Never let you go
by willblossom33
Summary: When RUNO is saved one night by the leader of the notorious Fire Dragon gang, Daniel Kuso her life goes on a crazy roller coaster turning her world upside down and teaching her about love, friendship, and the meaning of danger. most of the credit goes to ninjanerva
1. Saviour

**NEVER LET YOU GO rewritten**

**I **hope you like it….

**HEY GUYS**

**I'M CHANGING THE PLOT OF THE STORY **

**TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT IT AFTER YOU READ THE NEW CHAPTER**

**I got some ideas after reading a story so I'm going to use them**

**It is not related to the series**

Runo wanted to kick herself as she walked down the dark street, her eyes constantly measuring the distance between one streetlight and the next. She could have easily called her father and asked him to pick her up from work and drop her at her apartment, but she was far too stubborn. She had moved out of her parent's home five months ago and she began to think her new independence made her invincible. 'Stupid stupid Runo,'she thought as she waited for the crosswalk light to change. 'You cannot stay at work until midnight and walk home. Where is your common sense?'She darted across the street quickly, walking a bit faster as she glanced behind herself. The streets were mostly empty in the small town ten minutes away from Tokyo. Usually during the day the streets were crowded with people and cars, everyone rushing to reach their destination. But at night the area was absolutely desolate, everyone gone home for the evening.

She whirled around fearfully as a cat darted out of a yard, knocking over a can on the curb and startling her. 'Just calm down; nothing is out here,'she told herself, trying to calm her rising fear and paranoia. She swore every time she walked home late that she would buy herself a bottle of pepper spray, not to use on anyone, just something to give her peace of mind as she walked home. 'Maybe I should have listened to Mom and Dad and moved into Julie's apartment.' Julie, Runo's best friend since junior high, had her own apartment; unfortunately Julie's apartment would have taken Runo almost an hour to get to without a car.

"Hey beautiful," a voice called from behind Runo, making her skin crawl. Runo glanced over her shoulder quickly, glimpsing three large men behind her. 'Oh crap,'she thought, speeding up slightly. She fumbled in her pocket for her phone, remembering the battery had died as her fingers brushed against the keysem. 'Faster, faster.'

"Where ya goin? Come have a good time with us," another voice called, the other two men laughing at his comment. Runo swallowed in fear, looking up at the street sign a few feet away. 'Seven blocks Runo, just seven blocks.' The men followed her across the street, closer than before.

"Come on honey, you should have some fun with us. We know how to entertain a lady," a man said lewdly. Runo's palms began to sweat, tightening their grip on her purse.

She tripped on the uneven concrete, falling forward slightly. The men used her lack of balance to their advantage, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the alley a few feet away. A hand covered over her mouth, smelling of sweat and sake. The smell made Runo's stomach lurch in disgust, the smell filling her nose. She bit down on his hand, causing him to pull away quickly. "Let me go!" she shouted, swinging her purse and clipping one of the men with it. She made a dash for the street, only to be grabbed a few feet away.

"You little….." the man she bit said, slapping her hard across the face. Runo's head snapped back, her vision blurring momentarily. She had never been in a fight before; she never even had her parents raise their hands toward her. She felt as if she had been dropped into an alternate universe. She raised her hand to swing her bag again, only for her wrist to be grabbed tightly and squeezed until she dropped it. "You're not going anywhere missy," he said, shoving her into the brick wall behind her. Runo's head banged against the wall hard, causing stars to flash before her eyes.

Runo swung her arm to slap the guy, unwilling to go down without a fight. She began to kick and claw at the men as they attempted to hold her down, fighting as if she was possessed, screaming her lungs out. Runo was unable to get out, the men's weight working against them. "Behave!" one of the men yelled, punching her in the jaw. Her vision faded to black as she felt something wet trickle down the back of her head. 'Blood,'she thought, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"What do you think you're doing!" a voice shouted from the entrance of the alley. Runo's head slowly turned in that direction, the blood from her head slowly dripping down her hair and the back of her neck. "Take your hands off of her now.

Why don't you make us?" one of the men replied, turning toward him as the other two held onto Runo.

Runo's eyelids drooped, her ears picking up on the sounds of a fight. 'He's trying to protect me,'she thought, immensely appreciative to her savior. The two arms that were suddenly pulled off her, causing her to lean against the wall as her shaky knees tried to hold her up. After a minute her knees gave way, almost sending her to the ground if it wasn't for the pair of arms that grabbed her just in time. Runo looked up at her protector, her hands holding onto his arms. She was surprised by how good-looking her protector was, his dark brown eyes with gorgeous brown hair, his black tee-shirt fitting tightly against his well-sculpted muscles. "W-who are you?" Runo asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"I'm Dan," he replied, holding her more tightly. Runo nodded as she slipped into unconscious, wondering if his deep voice sounded good saying his name, how amazing would it sound saying hers


	2. Help

**Help**

Crap, Dan thought as he grabbed the unconscious girl's body tightly. He lifted her into his arms, cursing softly as he saw the blood slowly dripping from her head'No wonder she passed out,' he thought, picking her bag off the floor.

After visiting his mom in the small city like she always harassed him to do, Dan heard the girl's frantic screams as he walked to his car. What this girl was doing all alone at night he had no idea, but his attention was more focused on the three men that surrounded her. His blood boiled at the memory of seeing her frightened but still fighting. He kicked one of the guys in the head as he walked out of the alley and toward his car.

He took his phone out of his pocket as he put her carefully in the car, bundling up his shirt and tucking it behind her head to slow the blood loss. She didn't seem to be too injured, beside the cut to the back of her head her lip was split and a bruise was forming on her jaw. 'That's a shame; she's pretty cute,' he thought as he looked at the bruise blooming on her. "Hey Mira," he said as a voice finally answered the phone.

"Hello Dan, how are you?" a cheerful voice answered.

"I'm fine," he replied, starting his car. "Are you at the apartment?

"Yes, I'm here with Acey ; do you need to talk to him?"

Dan held in a chuckle at Mira's use of Ace's nick name; besides his sister Mira was the only person to call him Acey. "No no, I don't need to talk to Ace; I'm bring someone back to the apartment and they could use some medical help. They aren't banged up too badly, but having a doctor check her out would be pretty handy right now."

"Her?" Mira asked. "Have you gotten into any trouble Dan?" she said in her sisterly tone. After being with Ace for so many years, Mira had become a little sister of sorts to him.

"No I haven't; it's kind of a long story Mira, I'll tell you when I get there. Just don't go anyway," Dan said, driving quickly toward Tokyo, his eyes shifting to the unconscious girl every few seconds.

"Okay Dan; I'll be waiting," Mira replied, hanging up the phone.

Dan knew he had to look weird walking into the building with an unconscious girl in his arms and no shirt on. Then again the doorman at the building had seen him and his boys come home in more curious conditions, Billy carrying a slightly bloody sword, Shun covered in so many cuts it looked like he had flown through a windshield, Ace weaving through the building of the lobby. After a while the doorman and front desk clerk knew not to ask any questions; they just did their jobs. He was grateful to find the elevator empty, inserting his keys into the lock that allowed the elevator to go to the 15th floor. The entire floor was rented out by Dan and the rest of the Fire Dragon gang, all living in different rooms while sharing the same kitchen and living room space. It was almost as if they lived in a dorm, living with each other without stepping on anyone else's toes.

"Mira!" Dan called as he stepped out of the elevator. He walked into the living room to find her cuddled against Ace's side, a first aid kit resting on the coffee table. "Well isn't this a cute sight?" Dan teased.

"Dan, what happened to that poor girl," Mira gasped, getting off the couch and pushing Ace off to allow Dan to lay her down. "Who is she?

"I don't know who she is," Dan replied, running his hand through his hair as he looked down at the unconscious girl. The sight of her battered and bruised made his stomach twist uncomfortably, as if it was filled with shards of glass. "As for what happened, I found her in an alley trying to fight off three guys." Dan felt his initial anger re-flare at the memory of her trying to fight them off.

"They did grabbed her off the street!" Ace shouted, getting to his feet. Ace lived by a code, believing no man should ever raise his hands against a woman. He was probably just as angry as Dan. "Did you kick their asses?"

"Hell yeah I did; they won't be waking up anytime soon," Dan replied.

"Should go back for those stupid bastards. Three men against one woman, what kind of people are they?" Ace muttered.

Mira shook her head as she listened to Dan recount what he had seen happen to the girl and how he handled them. Mira knew she lived a protected life; she had never been harmed, never had a hand raised against her, rarely had a voice even raised against her. Her twin brother, Billy, was always there to protect her growing up. Then she had her boyfriend, Ace, to look after her. With Ace came the rest of the Fire Dragon gang, Dan and Shun. She had an entire family to watch after her and she knew how to protect herself. But as she finished bandaging the unconscious girl up, she knew that wasn't the life everyone lived. This girl was just walking the streets and she was attacked; what kind of world were they living in. Mira rubbed some ointment on the girl's jaw, hoping it would heal faster, before she rose off her knees.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Dan asked worriedly.

"She should be fine; the worst of her injuries is the gash on the back of her head, but that should heal without a problem. Odds are she'll wake up with a headache, but an aspirin should clear it up. Hopefully she won't have a concussion. You can move her to your room," Mira said, standing next to Ace.

Dan carefully carried the unconscious girl to his room, setting her gently on the bed. He brushed the bangs from her eyes, taking in her smooth creamy skin. 'Who are you,' he thought, pulling a chair to the side of his bed to sit.

**How are you guys like the story so far? Review and let me know if yuh have any suggestion**


	3. Getting to know you!

_**Getting to know you !**_

The first thing Runo noticed as she slowly emerged from unconscious was something cool and soft resting against her cheek. She turned her face closer toward it, relishing the pleasant feel of it. The events of a few hours ago flooded her mind, causing her to sit up quickly in fear. She braced her hands against the bed as her head swam at the sudden movement. A hand against her forearm kept her from falling off the bed as she swayed slightly. "Easy there, you need to rest," a vaguely familiar voice said, pressing her shoulder back gently to get her to lay back on the mattress.

She turned toward the figure, relaxing slightly as she recognized her savior from the alley. Runo whimpered softly as her head rested against the mattress, a pain lancing through her skull. "Oh god," she groaned, her hand going to hold her head. She thought the pain was bad when the guy banged her head against the wall, but this pain was so much worse.

"Here drink this," the man said, holding out a bottle of water and two aspirin pills toward her.

"Thank you…Dan right?" she asked, sipping the water and swallowing the medicine. She squeezed her eyes shut against the pain, biting her lip slightly.

"Yeah, I'm Dan. What's your name?" he replied, resisting the urge to run his palm across her forehead and try to soothe her pain.

"I'm Runo. Runo Misaki. Thank you for saving me…I would have been in a lot of trouble if you hadn't shown up." She looked at Dan carefully, her eyes shining with appreciation and thankfulness.

"It wasn't a problem," Dan said, tearing away from her gaze. Her eyes were the most beautiful shade of brown he had ever seen, shining with little flecks of honey in them. "What were you doing out there so late anyway; it's not safe to walk there alone."

"Yeah I know," Runo said, shaking her head and wincing at the movement. "I was working late in the bakery; I own it and I lost track of time."

"Still it was a pretty stupid move walking home alone," Dan scolded.

"I know!" Runo said sharply in aggravation. 'I know I did something stupid; why does he need to point it out?'she thought. "Where are my clothes?" Runo asked worriedly, looking down at the black shirt and shorts she was wearing. "And how did I get bandaged up?"

"That was all Yukina's work; she's a nurse so she fixed you up and changed you into some of my spare clothes. Yours are in my washer; they had a lot of blood on it," he answered, scowling slightly. 'There should have never been any blood on them,'he thought

."Is she your girlfriend?" she asked, wanting to suck the words back into her mouth as she said them. Here she was in the house of her protector, basically a stranger and she was asking him about his personal life. Did she lose her manners with the blood loss?

"Nah, she's my best friend's girl," he replied. "Though why she's with a knucklehead like him I'll never know." Dan shook his head, a small smile on his face.

Runo felt oddly happy knowing Dan didn't have a girlfriend. 'Runo Misaki what are you thinking,' shescolded herself. "Well I appreciate everything you've done for me but I really should be getting home," Runo said, slowly pushing herself up slowly.

"You're not going anywhere," Dan replied, leaning back in his chair. "It's three in the morning; just rest and I'll take you home in the morning." The way Dan spoke left no room for discussion, irritating an independent Runo. But she knew she couldn't get home without his help, she didn't even know where she was in the first place.

"You know you can be annoyingly forceful," Runo said as she laid back down, huffing slightly.

Dan smirked at her words. "I'm just used to getting my way in my line of work."

"And what would that be?" she asked, rolling over to face him.

Dan paused; he didn't want to get this random girl mixed up in his world, even if she was gorgeous with her beautiful white smile, her deep brown eyes, her shining brown hair and her porcelain skin. To tell her that he was the leader of the Black Dragon gang for the southern part of Tokyo would mean putting her in danger. And she would probably run screaming from the room. 'Probably not the best idea Dan,' he thought. "I…umm I run a business actually."

"Really? What do you do?" she asked curiously.

"Me and my friends are bodyguards; we do protection detail," he answered. It was partially true. Dan and his team did protect people occasionally, but they tended to break limbs more than save them.

"Dan's bodyguard service," Runo mused, a smile playing on her lips. "Judging by the way you handled those guys I guess business must be good."

Dan laughed, a sound that made Runo's heart melt. She ran her gaze quickly over him, taking in his very dark eyes, filled with secrets, his hair that looked like it was as soft as a cloud, his toned arms and chest covered in a snug shirt. He could definitely be a heart breaker. "Yeah me and my friends do alright; we live comfortably."

"That must be nice," Runo said, yawning as her eyelids drooped. "My apartment is pretty small, but it's home you know?"

Dan thought back to the little apartment he had grown up in with his mother, his bedroom still there in case he needed a place to spend the night. "Yeah, home is where the heart is I guess."

"Well my heart's with me so I guess this is home tonight," Runo said softly as she fell asleep again, her words barely reaching his ears.

Dan felt his heart lurch oddly at her words, taking him by surprise. It was almost as if he wanted his room to be home. 'Keh you must be really tired Dan,' he thought, pulling the blanket up to cover Runo more. 'She couldn't stay here. She's so sweet and innocent; to tangle her up in this life would ruin her. She wouldn't even know what she got into.'Dan leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms above his head as he closed his eyes, following Runo into sleep.

Review!


	4. Almost got killed again

Hey everyone ! long time I know

I'm have been very busy with school its exam after exam

Well I hope you like the chapter

I made billy mira's twin I don't know whyit just randomly came up and I also made billy a bit occ , I made him a bit cold you know like when he was with masquerade

And shun is a bit occ as well I made him a bit nicer

And if you are curious about their ages dan , runo and ace is 22 . mira and billy are 21 and shun is 23

I read a fanfic story and decided to make it in to a bakugan fanfic with minor changes that is NEVER LET YOU GO 's story

Almost got killed again

Runo stretched her arms over head, yawning as she slowly woke up. She had slept peacefully after speaking to Dan, her body using the time to repair itself. Her hand went up to her jaw as she yawned again, climbing out from under Dan's warm blankets. 'I knew that punch was gonna leave a mark,'she thought as she walked toward the mirror hanging above Dan's dresser. "Not as bad as I thought it would be," Runo said to herself as she observed the blue tinged skin along her jawbone and her split lip. 'Would have been worse if Dan hadn't shown up,'she thought looking around the room. 'Where is he?'Runo walked out of the bedroom, adjusting the t-shirt and basketball shorts she had slept in.

Runo made her way down the hallway and into the kitchen, her stomach growling slightly. 'One drawback of working late: missing dinner.'Runo began to fiddle around the kitchen, standing in front of the coffee maker as it brewed a fresh pot of coffee.

She gasped slightly as she found a knife at her neck and someone standing behind her. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" the angry voice asked. Runo opened her mouth to reply but found her words caught in her throat from her immense fear. "I'll ask you one last time before I slit your throat; who are you?" Runo tried to swallow to relieve the dryness in her throat. _'From thugs on the streets to guys with knifes, I really can't be safe anywhere,'_she thought, panicking. _'I could really use your help right now Dan!' _

"Billy, what are you doing to that girl?" a different voice asked.

Runo used the momentary distraction to elbow the knife-wielding man in the stomach, catching him by surprise, before she ran full tilt back to Dan's room.

"Dan!" Runo screamed as she ran back down the hall. "Dan, help!" Runo flung his door open quickly and ran into him, the impact almost knocking him to the floor.

"Runo, what happened?" he asked as panicked tears escaped her eyes. He held onto her forearms, his thumbs running circles against her skin.

"This guy came up behind me in the kitchen with a knife," she whispered fearfully as she tried to pull herself out of his grip and further away from the door.

'Crap,'Dan thought as he placed himself between the doorway and her. "Listen Runo, you don't have to be scared."

"I presume she's your guest then," a voice said from the doorway, interrupting him. Runo hid behind Dan as he turned to the man in the doorway. The man was slightly shorter than Dan with spiky blonde hair and wore a white shirt and black jeans.

"Yeah, she is. Did you need to scare her half to death?" Dan asked irritably.

The man shrugged as he turned away from the pair. "Had to make sure she wasn't an assassin. With our line of work, you never know who may be coming for us. Had to take extra precaution since Mira is here," he replied, walking away. Dan shook his head as he turned back to Runo. Billy was one of his best men, always dependable in a jam, but sometimes his actions were a bit overzealous. "I'm really sorry about that Runo. My friend, Billy, can be a little overcautious sometimes." Dan wanted to punch Billy as he noticed Runo's fingers trembling slightly as she brushed her tears away. He resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and hold her until she felt better. He was basically a stranger to her; he didn't want to freak her out more.

"I-is he always like that?" Runo asked, trying to push away her fear. She was with Dan now and she had a feeling he would protect her from anything that threatened to harm her. He was…calming to her.

Dan laughed slightly. "Some days are better than others. He's just edgy because his little sister spent the night so he's on high alert. Come on let's get some breakfast," Dan said, leading her out of the room. Runo's eyes finally roamed Dan's body now that she didn't fear for her life. Dan was shirtless, his chest muscles glistening slightly for the water he hadn't dried off, his jeans hung low on his hips, revealing the top of his boxers. Runo looked away quickly, blushing. "See something you like Kid ?" Dan teased as he noticed the blush across her cheeks.

"Oh shut up," Runo replied, punching him in the shoulder. She was surprised by how easy the gesture seemed, as if they had known each other for years instead of hours.

"There's your guest," a black headed man said from the kitchen as she and Dan entered. "I was worried Billy had gotten to her before she could get to you."

"You saw Billy threaten her and you didn't do anything Shun!" Dan said angrily.

Shun held his hands up in defense. " I wouldn't do such a thing and let me finish dan . As I questioned Billy about what he was doing, your friend dashed off to your room, screaming your name." He put his hands down as he saw Dan calm down a bit, picking his cup back up as he turned toward her.

"You make an amazing cup of coffee I must say. My name is Shun Kazami; it's a pleasure to meet you," he said, holding out a hand to her."I'm Runo Misaki," she replied, shaking his hand. 'At least one of Dan's friends is normal.'

"Yo Kuso, what's up with the noise so early in the morning," a man with blue hair said as he walked into the kitchen, a woman about her age wearing a nurse's uniform walking next to him. "Oh hey she's awake, hi," he said, waving at her.

"Runo, the big idiot is Ace and the girl next to him is Mira, Billy's twin sister, Ace's girlfriend and your doctor last night," Dan said, introducing them. "Everyone this is Runo Misaki.

Runo felt her eyes widen as she looked at Mira; she didn't look anything like her angry, dangerous twin brother. She quickly remembered her manners, bowing to Mira. "Thank you very much for taking care of me Mira."

"Oh it wasn't any trouble at all," Mira replied. "I'm just glad you're feeling alright; I was a bit worried. How's your head feeling?"

"It's okay," she replied, her hand going up to rub the back of her head gently. "It hurt when I woke up early this morning but it's okay now."

Mira nodded, a smile lighting up her beautiful face. "I'm off to work boys; I'll be back in time for dinner."

"Crap you're leaving? Guess we're ordering take out for breakfast again," Dan groaned.

"Seriously you boys need to learn to cook," Mira laughed as she walked into the elevator.

"She is right," Shun said, shaking his head. "One of us should the only thing we are not good at"

"Yeah that'll happen," Dan said sarcastically. "So what's it gonna be? Pizza, Chinese, sushi, fried chicken?"

"Umm…I can make breakfast if you guys want," Runo said softly. All eyes turned to her, making her wish she hadn't spoken. 'Maybe I shouldn't have offered,'she thought, blushing from their intense stares.

Review and tell me how it was


	5. what are these strange feelings?

Another chapter for my friends

What is these strange feelings?

Runo fidgeted under the intense stares of the guys, shifting nervously from one foot to another. She had never had this much male attention focused on her. She was pretty cute in her opinion; she may have been a little short in her mind but she took care of her body and stayed in shape. Still she'd never had three, now four men as Billy walked into the living room, looking at her as if she had grown a second head. 'I only offered to make breakfast, not go on a killing spree,'she thought.

"You would make us breakfast?" Dan asked cautiously.

"Well yeah, I mean you saved my life last night. The least I could do is make breakfast for you guys," Runo replied, blushing slightly at their looks.

"Wait can she cook?" Ace asked Dan.

"Of course she can cook; she owns a bakery," Dan said proudly, glad he knew something about Runo.

"I'm gonna go make pancakes or something," Runo said, walking into the kitchen to avoid their slightly awkward conversation. 'These guys are so weird,' she thought, shaking her head as she listened to their conversation while searching through the cupboards.

"Kuso, you should save girls more often especially if they can cook. Actually just bring Runo back next time Mira has to work the morning shift; home food is always better than takeout," Ace said.

Runo smiled as she pulled a bowl and flour out of the cupboard, her mind running over the recipe she had memorized for pancakes. 'I wonder if they have any chocolate chips,' she thought. She froze as she went to crack an egg, looking down at the bowl of mixed ingredients on the counter. 'Runo, you're in a house with a group of men you don't know, you don't even know what part of the city you're in and you're going to make them pancakes?' the logic part of her mind shouted. 'You should be finding your clothes and getting the hell out of there!' Runo knew the part of her mind yelling at her was right; any sane person would be getting their stuff and getting the hell out of the apartment. But Runo didn't feel scared. She almost liked being in the apartment with everyone. She had learned quickly that while living alone gave you lots of independence, it also left you a bit lonely to come home to a silent house. She liked listening to the sounds of Dan and Ace talking, looking at the slight smile on Shun's lips, even seeing Billy sitting silently away from them. 'I'll just make these pancakes and go home,' she told herself.

"Do you need any help Runo?" Shun asked as he put his coffee mug into the sink. "I realize we're being ungracious hosts by allowing you to cook."

"It's not a problem," Runo said, waving off his apology. "I like cooking; it kinda makes me feel like I'm at home. Although this place does make me feel odd," she said, shaking her head as she mixed the pancake batter.

"How so?" Shun asked.

"It seems familiar, but at the same time it's not. Like Dan. He seems so familiar to me, like I know him from somewhere, but I know I've never met him before. It's almost like a sense of déjà vu. Look at me babbling and I don't make any sense," Runo laughed.

Shun watched Runo as she began to cook the pancakes in the frying pan. He had been suspicious of her at first; she could have very well been an undercover assassin sent to kill them all. They made a lot of enemies over time; it wouldn't have been strange for them to send someone to get rid of them. And who better than an innocent looking girl? But after listening to her story, he knew she wasn't a killer; she was just a girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was lucky enough to be saved by Dan.

"Hey guys, pancakes are done!" Runo shouted as she took the last pancake out of the frying pan. "I put chocolate chips in them, I hope you don't mind."

"Runo, you are an angel," Ace said as he began piling pancakes onto his plate. She was glad she made more pancakes than she would need normally; judging by the way they ate, every pancake would be gone.

Dan watched as Runo cut her pancake carefully, eating with perfect table manners while surrounded by a bunch of guys who would have eaten them with their hands if they were pushed. No matter how many times Dan looked down at his plate or at the television screen, his eyes always wound back on Runo. Something about her was just so magnetic. Maybe it was the breathtaking smile she had worn for most of the morning when she wasn't scared out of her mind. Maybe it was the soft tinkling laugh she had. Maybe it was the way her eyes met his when he looked at her. Just something about her drew him in. He found himself dreading when she would leave the apartment. It was almost 10 o'clock. He had work to do and he knew she probably had to get home or to work or maybe she even had a boyfriend waiting for her. He felt a pang of jealousy dig at his heart at the thought of her with someone else. 'Get a hold of yourself Dan; she's not yours.'Still he wished he could find a way to keep her with him, someway to keep her close. But with his line of work it was better to keep people he liked far away before they got hurt. 'You can dream Kuso, but that's all,'he thought as he saw Runo set her empty plate on the table. 'You gotta give her up.'

Meanwhile in another part of Tokyo,,,

"Kuso and his gang are getting to be a little too troublesome," said the man sitting behind the desk. The man wore a green jacket over a darker green shirt and sunglasses to cover his eyes. He was simply known Barodius, one of the leaders of the black Demon gang, the rival of the Fire Dragons.

"How would like to handle this brother?" the man sitting across from him .They looked like complete opposites, but they ran the Red Demons together. "Kuso has disrupted yet another one of our drug shipments."

"shadow ," Younger of the two said, looking toward the closed office doors. A tall man with long straight hair walked into the office wearing a long black coat despite the coming warmth of spring.

"Yes sir," shadow said, standing before him.

"I would like you to watch Kuso and his team. Do research on all of them. Everyone has a weakness; I want you to find theirs and report back to me," zenoheld ordered.

"Yes sir," shadow said before walking out of the door. 'It's only a matter of time,' zenoheld thought. 'Every empire falls eventually.


	6. Will i meet them again?

**Hey guys I'm so sorry I didn't update in a loooooong time**

**It was exam months I was studying and it was 10****th**** grade final exams**

**Its like super important exams I knw you guys already knw that**

**Science and social and Hindi was okay**

**English was easy ( my fav)**

**Maths was horrible …I hope I pass pray for me guys**

**Exams was over on march 19 **

**I finished writing a few chapters I was just to lazy to type it and finally I knew I had to for those who use their precious time to read my stories even when they're not that much good I owe you guys a lot**

**I planned on completing my stories on my 3 ****month**** vaction yea I have no school till july**

**My results come on last week of may**

**So yea you'll be seeing a lot of me these coming months**

**I don't own anything except the story if I did there would a lot of runoxdan shunxalice billyxjulie acexmira fabiaxren daisyxmasquerade ( I knw I ship them) and serenaxkeith (I ship them too) moments**

**This chapter is dedicated to all you guys who read , fav , follow ,review my stories and to my frnd **neil-the star of dawn

**If you guys want chapters dedicated for anyone or yourself just PM me I'll do it ;)**

**Love ya all**

**Will I meet them again?**

Runo watched the buildings go by as Dan drove her out of the hustle and bustle of Tokyo to the outskirts of the mega city where she lived. After having a surprisingly pleasant breakfast with Dan and his friends, she had gotten dressed to return to her normal life and forget her trip to a "different world." Dan and his friends did seem like they were from a different place. Runo was used to guys being more quiet and careful when they're around a girl but these guys didn't seem to care. They weren't disrespectful, but they didn't treat her like a china doll. It was refreshing for her.

"Sorry to keep you so late," Dan said, breaking the silence of the car ride. "I'm sure your boyfriend must be worried about you." Dan wanted to know whether Runo had a boyfriend or not, but why he wanted to know he couldn't explain to himself. He tried to convince himself he only wanted to know so he could beat the guy into the ground for not protecting her better, but he knew that wasn't the real reason though he'd never say it.

"Oh no, I don't have a boyfriend, just my parents and my best friend, Julie. What about you? Will your girlfriend be mad that another woman slept in your bed?" Runo asked curiously.

Dan laughed. "Nah I don't have a girlfriend to breathe down my neck."

"Why not?" Runo asked before she could stop herself. "Not the breathing down your neck part, the girlfriend part," she elaborated.

"No one really gets me besides the guys. I haven't found a girl who's willing to judge me by more than my looks," Dan said, shrugging. "It's probably better this way; my job is stressful enough, I don't need some harpy screaming at me that I didn't take her shopping of something." They continued to drive in silence, both of them wrapped up in their own thoughts.

"Here we are," Dan said as he stopped in front of an apartment building. "Which floor do you live on?"

"The first one," she replied. Runo missed the look of worry that crossed Dan's face as she dug through her purse for her keys. 'What the hell is she doing living on the first floor? If anyone breaks in they can hit her apartment first,'he thought. "Thank you for everything you've done for me Dan, I really appreciate it," Runo said sincerely, her hand resting on Dan's forearm.

"No problem, just don't take any midnight strolls alone okay? Call someone to pick you up," Dan replied.

"I will," Runo said, kissing his cheek quickly as she opened the door. "Thank you again." Dan watched as she walked safely into her apartment, his mind replaying the soft feel of her lips against his skin. Even if he never saw her again, he knew she would never be someone he could forget.

"Runo Misaki,where in god's name are you!" Julie screeched from Runo's answering machine. Since Runo's phone died last night, Julie left ten messages on her answering machine, each one getting more worried and annoyed. "Call me as soon as you get in or I'm going to call the police!"

Runo shook her head as she dialed Julie's number. She always was the kind of person who would overreact. 'Though I guess she's not overreacting since I did get attacked last night,' she thought as the phone rang. "Hey Julie," she said as her friend picked up.

"Runo! Where have you been? I've been calling you all night. Your cell phone went straight to voicemail so I've been calling your house phone constantly," Julie said rapidly.

"Yeah I could tell by the voicemails," Runo said humorously.

"Hey this is no laughing matter! I thought you were kidnapped or something. What happened to you?"

"You wanna come over for me to explain to you? It's kind of a long story and I need to take a bath," Runo said.

"Fine, I'll be there in thirty minutes," Julie replied, hanging the phone up.

Thirty minutes later...

Runo held back her laughter at the shocked look on her best friend's face, her silver hair making it funnier. "So yeah that's basically what happened last night and this morning," Runo said, sipping her tea.

"You were attacked, saved by a hot guy-"

"I did not say hot!" Runo exclaimed.

"Oh please the look on your face said it all," Julie replied, waving off her friend's comment. "Taken back to his place, given medical attention, threatened at knife point and then you just had breakfast with them?" she said incredulously.(**yes i know big words like that :D)**

"Yeah basically," Runo said, aware of how crazy the story sounded.

"Are you alright?" Julie said worriedly. "Did this Dan guy take care of you?"

"Yeah, he was a good protector," Runo replied, a smile on her lips. "Dan is a good guy, little rough around the edges but he's good."

"So are you gonna see him again?" Julie asked. Now that she knew her best friend was perfectly fine, she wanted to know about these guys she spoke about. "You seem to like him a lot."

"I…I don't know," Runo said softly. "I don't even know where he lives or anything; I just know it's somewhere in Tokyo which really doesn't narrow it down. I hope I'll see him again but I'll have to be lucky to run into him again."

Meanwhile in the Red Dragon Gang apartment...

"There is exactly one bakery in the area owned by a Runo Misaki," Shun said, turning the screen toward Dan.

"You're the best Shun," Dansaid, his eyes scanning over the address of her bakery. "Holy shit she was walking 15 blocks home at midnight! Is that chick insane?" Dan said, shaking his head. 'Obviously she doesn't understand self-preservation.'

"You gonna go see Runo, Kuso?" Ace asked from his position on the couch. Dan remained silent, unsure what the answer to that question was. Did he wanna go see her? Yes. Should he go see her? He wasn't too sure.

"You should go see her Dan, " Mira said as she walked out of the kitchen, a plate of food in her hands. "But you should wait a day or two."

"Yeah you don't wanna seem too desperate," Ace teased.

Dan threw a book at Ace, hitting him in the back of the head. "I don't know what you see in him Mira," Dan said as he watched Ace fall off the couch.

**Who wants Dan****to go see Runo?**

**So guys how was it I knw it isn't much**

**It was horrible**

**Review please**

**Pretty please**

**~~~~~~~~~WB out *******


	7. Finally! patience rewarded!

**hey guyzz another chapter just for you guys **

**I love you all a lot thanks a lot for all the support**

**This chapter is for **mistynatjanee &amp; diamond heart 82 &amp; PrewalShadeX &amp; fia3striker &amp; strikedeathkd53019

and to all the guests and anonymous who reviewed love ya all

enjoy

**Finally! Patience Rewarded !**

Runo sighed as she looked up to see yet another normal customer walk into her store. She should be happy that her bakery was getting so many customers, but she always felt a little disappointed when she looked up and saw it wasn't him standing in the doorway. It had been a week since Dan had saved her from the attack and she hadn't seen or heard from him since. 'What do you expect Runo; it wasn't like we went out on a date, he saved my life but I shouldn't expect to see him again. I don't know where he lives, we don't have each other's numbers, why do I keep looking for him?'

But she still couldn't resist the urge to look up as the door opened again, hiding the disappointment when it was simply another customer. "Hello, welcome to my bakery. How can I help you?" Runo asked with a smile.

The woman standing before removed her sunglasses, looking into the food showcase. "Can I have a dozen of those cupcakes? Four vanilla, four chocolate, and four red velvet."

"Of course miss," Runo replied as she opened an empty cardboard box.

The woman laughed, "I'm too old to be called miss; I've got a son around your age. Just call me Miyoko."

"Alright Miyoko, that'll be 1,700 yen." Runo looked up quickly as she heard the bell above the door chime.

"Looking for a boy?" Miyoko asked with a smile, handing over her money.

"Actually yes," Runo replied.

"Well don't worry about it; a pretty thing like you, the guy is gonna come find you," Miyoko said as she walked to the door, cupcake box in hand.

"Have a nice day," Runo called after her. 'She's right; if Dan wants to see me, he'll come.'

Later that night...

'Okay Kuso, just get out of the car and get in there,' he thought. He had been sitting in his car for 10 minutes trying to work up the courage to get up and go into Runo's bakery. 'Figures, I'm not afraid of fighting people twice my size but I'm scared of this tiny girl that the wind could blow away.' He had been fighting with himself for the past week, debating if he should go see her. Part of him wanted to see her hours after he dropped her home, but the other part of him wanted to keep her safe from his lifestyle. In the end the former part of him prevailed, which resulted in him parking a block away from the bakery.

'Get off your ass Kuso,' Dan thought, getting out of his car. Although it was only a little after 8, the streets were already dark, the streetlights overhead providing the only illumination. He looked through the glass door of the bakery, watching Runo's profile as she tucked cardboard boxes away. 'Wow,' he thought as he watched her light blue hair fall forward in front of her eyes. Dan pushed the door open, his heart pounding as the bell chimed over the door.

"Welcome to my bakery," Runo said. "How, oh Dan!" Runo exclaimed as she looked up to see him. Dan felt his heart jump as Runo looked at him, a beautiful smile stretching across her face. He didn't realize until that moment how much he had actually missed her.

Runo felt the smile stretch across her lips as she looked at Dan standing inside of her bakery. 'Of course he would show up the moment I stopped watching the door,' she thought. "How have you been?" she asked.

"I'm good. I was passing by and I saw the bakery so I thought I'd stop in for something," he lied. "How've you been?"

"I'm okay," she answered, neglecting to tell him about the dreams that bothered her sleep some nights. "So what would you like? It's my treat."

"Oh you don't have to treat me to anything Runo," Dan said hastily.

"I insist; a batch of pancakes aren't enough to thank the man who saved me," Runo said smiling.

"Obviously you don't know how good you pancakes are," Dan muttered. "What do you suggest then? I don't really know what I want."

"You came in and don't know what you want?" Runo asked, giving him a strange look. Well then if you don't know what you want then I'll send you home with a little bit of everything: a few cupcakes, some cookies and a few slices of cake," Runo said, opening a large box.

"That's a lotta stuff," Dan replied, watching as she took out the sweets, piling them into the box. He had to admit her food looked delicious.

"Well you do live in a house full of men; I think the more food the better. I'll even customize the cupcakes," she said happily, picking up a bag of icing. "Let's see, I'll put an B on the lemon sponge cupcake, a S on the red velvet. That one's for Shun, A for Ace; I'll make that one a chocolate cupcake. Is Mira at the apartment?" Runo asked.

"Yeah she should be getting off her shift now," Dan said, looking down at his watch.

"Then I'll put a strawberry cupcake in for Mira and a vanilla for you. How's that sound?"

"Sounds good to me," Dan replied. He watched, mesmerized, as Runo quickly iced the cupcakes and packed them into the box, tying it closed with string. She was graceful in her movements, happiness shining on her face. This is where Runo was comfortable, this was her element.

"Here you are Dan," she said, handing him the box.

"Hey Runo are you doing anything tonight?" Dan replied, taking the plunge as his heart sped up in his chest.

"I just have to close up in a few minutes, but after that I don't have anything to do; why?" Runo replied, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Wanna go get some dinner with me?" Dan asked, his palms sweating slightly.

**Cliffhanger I know :p **

**sorry guys I couldn't help myself ;) **

**please don't kill me **

**so what will runo say? **

**Wait till the next chapter**

**You know wat to do **

**Review guyss**


	8. to know her and finally found home

**Hey guys **

**Yeah yeah I know its been 2 weeks **

**Well anyway enjoy**

**Getting to know her and finally found home**

Runo felt her face heat as she heard Dan's words echo through her mind. "Wanna go get some dinner with me?" Runo thought she would burst with happiness at his request. She was a little sad the time between them was going to end, but now she was overjoyed. 'He asked me out, he asked me out, he asked me out!' she chanted happily in her mind. On the outside she appeared calm and relaxed but on the inside she was ricocheting off the walls. 'Gotta play it cool, don't wanna freak him out,' she thought. "I'd love to go out with you Dan," she said happily. "Just gimme a few minutes to close up everything and we can go."

Dan watched Runo bustle around the store, packing the baked goods into the fridge, closing the curtains on the window. He had been worried when he first asked her to dinner; she paused for a moment longer than he would have liked. But the genuine smile that spread across her face when she said yes instantly put him at ease. Now he was stuck racking his brain for a place to take her out. Neither of them were dressed for a particularly fancy restaurant. "Runo, where do you wanna go eat?"

"Anywhere you wanna go is fine," Runo answered from the back room. She was hurriedly brushing her hair in front of a small mirror she had hung on the wall, dusting off the little bit of flour that was on her cheeks. 'God if I knew he was gonna come today I woulda worn something different,' she thought, looking down at her plain jeans and white top. 'Oh well, can't have everything.' "Okay, I'm ready," Runo said, walking out of the back room.

"Great, let's go," Dan said, opening the door for her.

After driving around for 15 minutes, unable to decide on where to go, Runo and Dan ended up at a small ramen restaurant close to Runo's best friend, Julie's house. "This place is cute," Runo said as they walked in. The restaurant was empty on that weeknight, which they both preferred, finally getting time together.

"We're lucky we even found somewhere to eat; otherwise we woulda ended up not having dinner," Dan laughed as they sat at the counter, eyes running over the menu.

"Well if that was the case we woulda just gone back to my place and I woulda made us dinner," Runo replied, surprised by her own boldness.

"Really now?" Dan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure, why not? I've already been at your apartment, I've even met your friends."

"We'll do that next time then," Dan said.

Runo smiled at Dan's mention of next time; excited she'll get to see him again. "You can choose what you wanna eat, I'll cook for you," she replied as they ordered their food. "So tell me about yourself Dan."

"What's there to tell?" he asked.

"I don't know; isn't this how you get to know someone, you ask them about themselves."

"Yeah but you didn't really ask me anything," Dan said, smirking.

"Okay, tell me about your family," Runo said, rolling her eyes at him. "And are you always this difficult for no reason?"

"I'm usually this difficult actually," Dan said nonchalantly.

"You weren't like this the first time I met you," Runo countered.

"The first time I met you you had just been attacked by a group of men; I figured if I was ever gonna use my manners that was the time," he said with a shrug.

"Good point," Runo muttered, purposely ignoring Dan's smirk. "So tell me about your family."

And so Dan and Runo passed the evening, eating and laughing and getting to know each other. Runo got to see more of Dan's stubborn, difficult nature as they got to know each other better and Dan began to learn Runo wouldn't take his comments lying down, firing back with just as sharp of a tongue. A mild argument erupted as they were handed the bill, both of them insisting they would pay for dinner. Dan won as he got up, handing the waiter his credit card for the bill.

"Give it up Runo; I've been taking care of myself since I was 14. I'm not gonna let you pay for me. You can cook for me, but not pay for me," Dan said as he tucked his credit card back into his wallet.

"You're such a jerk," Runo said without heat, tossing a napkin at his face. "I'm gonna pay next time we have dinner."

"So eager to go out with me again?" Dan said, laughing as he watched the blush creep into her cheeks. "Why Runo I didn't know you liked me so much.

"Runo shook her head, getting up from the table. "You really are something else," Runo said as she walked out of the restaurant.

"Come again!" the waiter said as Dan followed Runo out.

"You can count on it," Dan replied as he walked out. "Come on Runo wait up," Dan said, grabbing her hand gently to stop her. "You aren't really upset are you?"

"Nah I just like jerking your chain," Runo laughed, interlacing her fingers with his.

Dan shook his head, looking at her. "You're something else Runo," he said softly, his fingers brushing against her wrist. He leaned his head down slowly, trying to gauge Runo's reaction. As she stretched up toward him, he smirked, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into a heated kiss.

"Shadow, what have you learned about Kuso and his people?" Zenoheld asked as he leaned back in his chair, the Barodius sitting on the windowsill behind him.

"There are four people that make up Kuso's squad, including him. First there's Shun," he said, sliding a picture across the desk. "Age 23, he's the researcher of the group. I believe he's the person who finds out about our shipments. He's the only child of a single mother who lives outside of Tokyo."

"That may be something we can exploit," Barodius said.

"Next is Billy, very violent, has a few priors. He's small but he's extremely strong."

"Any weak points?" Zenoheld asked, lighting a cigarette.

"Just one, his twin sister, Mira. She happens to be dating another member of the Fire Dragon gang so she tends to be in their apartment. Which leads to the next person. Ace. From what I can tell, he seems to be an idiot-"

"Looks can be deceiving Shadow," Zenoheld said.

"Maybe. He's loyal as a dog to Kuso and his people and quite protective of his girlfriend. He also has an older sister who doesn't live with him. Finally there's Kuso. Tough as nails, strong as hell. Not a brilliant strategist but he's willing to put his neck out there for a plan."

"Yes, recklessness can be dangerous," Zenoheld said.

"The only people he associates with outside of his group is his mother and a new girl I've seen him with; her name is Runo Misaki."

"Do some research on Ms. Misaki; we may pay her a visit," Zenoheld said, putting out his cigarette

**What will he do to runo ?**

**Wait and see**

**Review plea-**

**Wait on second thought you guys have been waiting for so long for the update you deserve more so I'm gonna make it a little more longer**

Runo rolled into her side, her eyes automatically going to the clock on her nightstand. '3:14, it's so late,'she thought clutching her stuffed animal to her chest. "," the stuffed animal said as she squeezed it, causing her to smile. Dan had won it the night they all went to the fair.

"That thing looks like an animal kingdom reject," Dan had laughed as she pointed out the prize she wanted him to win.

"It is not a reject; it's unique," she replied, taking in its dark blue color, its long floppy ears, its little yellow beak, and the tufts of hair on top of its head. "Anyway, blue is my favorite color," she said, laughing with Dan as the stuffed toy said "puu".

Runo looked at the clock again. 3:20. 'Oh god why is this night dragging along?'Runo knew exactly why the night seemed endless. Dan was on another bodyguard mission that night. After dating for almost 6 weeks, Runo had grown used to his unpredictable schedule. He usually wasn't gone for more than a day or two, but she still worried over him. After all his life was in danger as long as he was protecting someone else. 'Don't stress Runo; Dan said he would text you when he gets home. Just go to sleep and stop worrying already,'she told herself to no avail. She lay in bed for a few more minutes before a sudden knock at the door startled her. She got up from her bed, grabbing her baseball bat as she padded through her apartment to the front door.

She sighed with relief as she checked the door's peep-hole, rushing to unlock the door. "Dan," Runo said breathlessly, overjoyed to see him perfectly fine. 'Well almost fine,'she thought as she looked at the band-aid on his cheek.

"Did I wake you?" Dan asked, pulling her close and resting his chin on top of her head.

"No I was awake already," Runo replied, wrapping her arms around his strong body. Runo inhaled his scent deeply; she had never been able to explain what he smelled like but he was absolutely addicting to her.

"What are you doing up so late" Dan asked his brow furrowed. "It's three in the morning."

"I was worried about you," she replied, yawning. Now that Dan was with her exhaustion washed over her like a tidal wave.

"I told you not to worry about me," Dan said softly, rubbing her back. He didn't want her to lose sleep needlessly worrying about him, but it was nice to know she cared about him.

"Are you okay?" Runo asked, looking up at him.

As Dan looked down into her big blue eyes, he wanted to tell her everything, that he wasn't okay. That he and his friends, all members of the Fire Dragon gang, had gotten into a huge fight with their rivals, the black Demon, when they tried to intercept a shipment of money. That he would have been shot tonight if it wasn't for shun's quick thinking. That even though they managed to get the money, they were all a little worse for wear. That even though he had gone home for mira to bandage him up, he still wanted to come see her. That when the gun was pointed at him, the only part of his life that flashed before his eyes were the parts with her in it.

But he couldn't tell her that, at least not now. "Yeah I'm fine," he replied, kissing her forehead gently. "Just tired.

"Runo nodded, slipping her hand into his. "Come on, let's go to bed," she said, tugging him toward her room. Dan's eyes widened as he let her pull him along, wondering exactly what was on his girlfriend's mind. "But don't get any ideas Dan. We are going to sleep, only sleep," she said, looking at him seriously as they entered her room.

"What, I didn't say anything," Dan replied, looking around her room.

"But you were thinking it," she countered.

'Can't argue there,'Dan thought. He smirked as he noticed the weird stuffed animal he had won her lying on her bed. He followed suit, taking off his shirt before he lay down next to Runo.

She moved closer to him, resting her head on his chest as she tugged the blanket over them. Her hand brushed carefully over the faint bruises on his stomach. "Sure you're okay?" she asked sleepily.

"Yeah, those are nothing," he replied, kissing her head. "Just go to sleep." Runo nodded, wrapping an arm around him and falling asleep quickly.

Dan looked down at his girlfriend sleeping peacefully, brushing her hair away from her face. 'She looks so happy,' he thought, looking at the small smile that adorned her face. He knew he had a few options to choose from when it came to Runo. First option was to break up with Runo and never see her again, permanently protecting her from his life. The thought made Dan's heart clench, causing him to pull Runo closer. The second option was to continue lying to her and hope she would never find out about his life. He knew that could only be a temporary solution. Runo was a smart girl; she would find out eventually and when she did, she would be angry. And possibly break up with him. 'That wouldn't be good,'he thought. Runo might be small, but she could pack a punch. That left him with his final option: to tell her the truth and hope for the best. He resisted the urge to groan; he knew telling her wouldn't be easy, but he didn't have a lot of options to work with. Matter of fact he didn't have any other options period. 'Damnit, why don't any of these options end with me keeping Runo,' he thought, rubbing his eyes sleepily. 'I'll tell her later tonight; we'll have dinner together…and I'll tell her.'

**Hey guys that's all for now**

**You know what to do review **

**Tell me what you think**

**Love ya **

**Wb out ~~~~**


	9. the truth is out

**THE TRUTH IS OUT**

Ace looked at Dan sitting still on the couch, his eyes staring off into the distance. "Hey Shun, what's wrong with Kuso?" he asked.

"It seems like Dan has finally realized that he must tell Runo the truth and he's trying to figure out the best way to tell her about the Red Dragons," Shun said, his expression slightly worried; even he couldn't see a way for Dan to tell Runo without it ending badly.

"Good luck Kuso," Ace said sincerely. "I'm glad me and Mira don't have that problem. Honesty is always important in a relationship."

"Oh please," Dan said, his eyes finally focusing on his two friends sitting across from him. "You didn't neeed to tell Mira because she already knew about the Red Dragons from Billy and I'm pretty sure he didn't wanna tell Mira about everything either." As if on cue, Billy walked out of his room and into the kitchen. "Billy, come here a sec."

"What?" Billy asked coolly.

"If you coulda kept Mira from knowing about our life and the gang, would you have kept it from her?" Dan asked.

"Yes," Billy replied quickly.

"Told ya," Dan said to Ace.

"But the fact is I could ot keep this lifestyle from her. But once I brought her into this, I swore to protect her from anything or anyone that would threaten to harm her. Now if she'd only let me kill that oaf, she'd be fully protected," Billy said, walking back to the kitchen.

"Who are you calling an oaf you shrimp?" Ace yelled after him.

Dan sighed, getting up to pour himself a drink. "Isn't it too early for scotch Dan?" Shun asked. "It's only two in the afternoon."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures Shun," he replied.

'And these are indeed desperate times for you,'Shun thought.

Runo stood at the bakery counter, daydreaming about that morning. She was thrilled to wake up and find Dan sleeping next to her, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. She couldn't remember being so honestly happy around someone, let alone a guy. Even thought Dan had left before they could have breakfast together, she still went about her day with an extra spring in her step. She was on cloud nine. 'Is this what love feels like?'she wondered as she began to tidy up the bakery for closing time. She had invited Dan over for dinner at 8, giving her just enough time to get home and cook before he arrived.

"Good evening, welcome to my bakery," Runo said as she heard the bell over her door chime. She took an involuntary step back as she looked at her customer, a wave of terror washing over her. She had no idea who he was but she knew he was nothing but trouble as she took in his long Red hair and dark trench coat that covered his body. He was quite tall and though he didn't have bulging muscles, that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. Runo looked at her phone resting on the counter a few feet away and wondered if there was a covert way for her to reach it.

"Are you Runo Misaki?" the man asked, his hand going into his coat. 'What if he has a gun?' Runo thought frantically. 'What does he want with me? How does he even know who I am?'

"I said are you Runo Misaki?" the man asked impatiently. Runo nodded, her voice paralyzed. "Good. I am Shadow of the Black Demon gang." The man smiled coldly, making Runo's blood run cold. She took another step back, wondering what a gang member was doing in her shop and what he wanted with her.

"W-what do you want?" Runo asked, her stomach twisted with fear and tension.

"I want you to give your boyfriend, Dan Kuso of the Red Dragon gang a message for me," the man answered.

"You must be mistaken. Dan isn't in a gang; he's a bodyguard," Runo said, confused.

"Oh poor girl, has he really not told you?" the man said with false sympathy. "Well maybe these will help," he said, pulling out a manila envelope and handing it to her. "Open it."

Runo opened the envelope with shaking fingers, pulling out a stack of pictures. 'Dan!'she thought as she shuffled through the stack of pictures. They were all pictures of Dan and his friends, doing various things: fighting, beating people up, taking large boxes of something away. Runo felt her stomach drop; she knew Dan was keeping something from her, but she never thought it could be this.

"You must be wondering why I brought you these pictures. You see the problem is Dan and his gang have been intercepting shipments of drugs and money that belong to the Black Demon gang. That has my bosses very upset and they aren't very kind when they're upset. So you tell your boyfriend that he and his friends should stay away from our business and everyone will be okay," Shadow said, walking toward the door. "Have a nice day Ms. Misaki."

Runo felt her knees give out as the door closed behind the man, sending her crashing to the floor, the pictures still clutched in her hand. 'Dan...you lied to me.'

"Runo," Dan called as he knocked on her front door. He got no answer as he stood in front of her door. 'That's not like her,'he thought. She hadn't answered her phone calls or text messages that evening, worrying him. He tried the doorknob, surprised when it opened easily. "Runo," he called as he walked in. He found her sitting quietly at her kitchen table with a stack of papers in front of her. "Hey Runo I was calling you, didn't you hear me? And why was your front door unlocked?"

"Dan, are you a member of the Red Dragon gang?" Runo asked quietly.

**Sorry guys for not updating **

**I've been very busy and my computer broke nd it will cost a lot to fix**

**I'm updating from my friends place**

**Anyway stay tuned and review **

**Love ya**

**Wb out~~**


	10. Heartbroken

**HEY GUYS ! another chapter just for you**

**But I need to tell you this I've been receiving not much reviews for this story probably my fault for not updating quickly ( sorry again for that)**

**Since im not getting much reviews im kinda not sure if you guys like this story or not so I may or may not continue this**

**So please review if you want me to continue**

**HEARTBROKEN**

"Dan, are you a member of the Fire Red Dragon gang?" Runo asked quietly.

Dan froze, his mind trying to figure out how she knew. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about this," she said, getting up from her seat and handing the stack of papers to him.

Dan looked down at what she handed him, his eyes widening. They were photographs of the mission he and his team went on the night before. 'What the hell is going on?'

"A man named Shadow came into my bakery an hour ago, saying that he was a member of the Black Demon gang and you were a member of the Fire Red Dragon gang. And he handed me these pictures. Are you a member of the Fire Red Dragon gang?" she asked again, her voice emotionless.

Dan swallowed worriedly; this was not the way he wanted her to find out. "Yes, I am," he replied, softly.

Runo took a step back, her arms wrapping around herself. "How could you?" she said softly. "How could you lie to me Dan?"

"Runo, I didn't mean to," he said, taking a step forward.

"How can you even say that!" she shouted, her emotional dam breaking. "You told me when I first met you that you were a bodyguard."

"When I first met you I didn't think I was gonna ever see you again," Dan replied.

"And after Dan? In the six weeks we've been dating it never occurred to you to tell me that you were a gang member," she said, her words flowing with anger and hurt. "Never thought to say, 'Oh hey by the way Runo, I'm actually a Fire Red Dragon gang member, not a bodyguard.' What, was I not worth knowing the truth?"

"No Runo, that's not it at all, I-"

"Did you think I was stupid?" Runo said, interrupting him as she backed into her table. "Did you think I would never find out?"

"You're not stupid Runo; I was coming to tell you tonight," Dan said desperately. Everything that he feared about telling her was coming true. He had taken too long and someone had beaten him to it.

"How am I supposed to believe you!" she shouted, her eyes filling with angry tears. "How do I know this isn't just another lie you're telling me?"

"Come on Runo, you know me."

"Do I really know you Dan? I thought I did, but obviously I was wrong," she said, running her fingers through her hair in attempt to calm her rising emotions. "I guess I was wrong about you."

"Runo, I'm sorry; I never meant to hurt you. I didn't mean for you to find out this way," Dan said, taking another step toward her.

"You didn't mean to hurt me Dan? You lied to me for six weeks! How else am I supposed to feel about you? I cared about you Dan, I lov-," Runo paused, a sob catching in her throat.

Dan felt as if his heart was being torn out of his chest at Runo's words. Her words cut him like razors, which was what he deserved for lying to her, for hurting her this way. But when she almost said she loved him he thought his heart might shatter. "Runo, I'm really sorry," Dan said, taking one final step toward her.

"Stay away from me Dan," she said, putting her hands up as her voice cracked. "You know what? I really am stupid. I believed you and I trusted you and I cared about you and all you did was lie to me. You lied to me the entire time when I was being honest with you and I put my trust in you. I thought you were someone special Dan."

"Runo, I-"

"Get out Dan," she said, a single tear running down her cheek before she quickly wiped it away.

"Please Runo, just hear me out," Dan pleaded.

"No, I don't wanna hear anything you have to say. I want you to go and leave me alone. I never wanna see you again," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "I said get out!" she shouted as she looked at him still standing before her.

Dan felt as if he was rooted to the spot as Runo yelled at him to leave. He felt as if someone had taken a hammer to his heart, shattering it into a million sharp pieces and he knew Runo felt the same exact way at the moment. He took one last look at Runo, her eyes filled with unshed tears, her cheeks flushed with color. "I really am sorry Runo," he said softly, as he turned to go. "I never meant to hurt you."

Runo collapsed onto her knees as Dan closed the door behind him, her heart pouring out all the emotion she had withheld while he was there. She felt broken, not only her heart but her whole body was in pain. She realized now that she did fall in love with Dan in the six short weeks she had been with him, but he had broken her heart so badly. She sat there on her cold kitchen floor, sobbing until she was sure she would simply die of dehydration right there. Now she understood why people called it heartbreak. It really did feel like your heart was broken into tiny pieces.D

an wanted to smash his head against the wall as he hear Runo sob as the door shut behind him. He had ruined everything between them by lying to her. The relationship they had together, the growing love they shared, everything they shared was now gone within the blink of an eye. 'Way to go Kuso,' he thought as he walked out of the apartment building. 'You managed to screw up the one thing that was good in your life.'

"Did you deliver the pictures to Ms. Misaki?" Barodius asked as he leaned back in his chair."Yes, I hand delivered them to her a few hours ago," Shadow replied."Very good; the first move to dispose of the Kuso team is completed," Barodius said.

Review plsss


	11. It hurts

**HEY GUYS **

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE LOVE **

**I READ ALL THE REVIEWS **

**I LOVE YOU ALL A LOT**

**THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO :-**

Victoria Katy

Guest ( sorry don't knw your name but I guess you knw who you are so this is for you)

Daniellakuso

Hiya

Aquacharles

NoraKazami2611

diamond heart 82

strikedeathkd53019

**IT HURTS **

Dan slammed the apartment door as he walked in, resisting the urge to just rip it off its hinges. The pain he felt in his heart made him want to destroy everything in sight: he wanted to smash the glass entrance door of Runo's apartment, he wanted to rip his steering wheel apart, when some guy cut him off in traffic, he wanted to pull him through his driver's window and beat the guy into a bloody pulp. He ignored his friends' stares as he stalked through the living room to the liquor cabinet, anger radiating off of him in waves.

His friends were watching television as Dan came in, the sound of the slamming door indicating things had not gone well at all between him and Runo. They glanced at one another, unsure of what to do. The only thing they knew absolutely not to do was to ask Dan what happened. When he felt like talking he would tell them what happened, but judging by the gulp of whiskey he took straight from the bottle, it wasn't going to be tonight. Shun was the first person to make a move, getting up from his seat and going to the liquor cabinet Dan was leaning next to.

"You know you shouldn't drink alone Dan," Shun said, taking out a bottle of sake and two cups before going back to his seat on the couch. He poured two drinks, one for himself and one for Billy, before setting the bottle on the table. Ace followed suit, snatching the bottle of whiskey out of Dan's hand to pour a drink, and quickly placing it back in his hand before he was punched in the face for taking the liquor from Dan.

Mira sat on the couch drinking her tea and looking worriedly at Dan. He had become another big brother to her, just as protective as Billy was, but not as serious, always making jokes and laughing. It broke her heart to see him in such pain, leaning against the wall as he drank straight from the bottle. She knew all of that liquor wasn't gonna make anything better; as a matter of fact it was gonna make him feel a whole lot worse in the morning when he had a hangover. But she knew now wasn't the time for her to lecture him on the dangers of alcohol and the horrible things it does to the human body. Now was the time to keep him company, just to let him know he wasn't alone. Although Dan had put on a cool, veiled mask, Mira could tell he was truly heartbroken and that was enough to make a person reach for a liquor bottle.

Ace and Shun struggled to carry an unconscious Dan to his bedroom, Shun holding his arms while Ace held his legs. Dan had managed to drink an entire bottle of whiskey by himself, a feat that worried Mira immensely. He had slowly slid down the wall as the hours passed by and the liquor bottle slowly drained, finally sitting on the floor before he passed out an hour later.

"Things musta gone really bad," Ace said to Shun as they finally placed Dan on his bed.

"Yes, I suspected as much," Shun said worriedly. "I didn't think it could have gone this badly though. I wonder what happened."

"Yeah I don't think Kuso will be telling us anytime soon," Ace replied, walking out of his bedroom

Julie wished Dan a painful death that sent him to the worst pit of hell as she tried to console her crying best friend. Runo had called her over that morning, her words barely distinguishable through her crying. All Julie really managed to understand was her saying come over and that was enough for her to get into her car and speed over to Runo's. When she arrived she had told Julie the entire story, about the scary Black Demon gang member who had shown up at her bakery, about the pictures he had of Dan and his friends, about the argument she had with Dan last night that finally ended in her breaking up with him. At the end of her recollection Runo was a shaking, sobbing mess, her heart absolutely crushed.

Runo could barely focus on her best friend sitting on the couch next to her, trying to comfort her as much as she could. It was better than last night for her. She had spent a vast majority of the night crying, her Puu stuffed animal clutched against her chest as she wept and was torn between holding it tighter against her chest and throwing it across the room. She knew she should get rid of it; anything that reminded her of Dan would just make her heart ache so much worse, but she couldn't throw it away. Even if Dan had broken her heart into a thousand jagged pieces, she still loved him and those feelings couldn't go away overnight no matter how much she wished she could.

Runo finally pulled herself together, sitting up properly on the couch as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. 'Pull yourself together Runo. You've never been a blubbering mess of a girl; why in God's name are you starting now?'she thought. She took a few deep breaths, trying to gain a hold on the crushing sadness she felt.

"Are you alright?" Julie asked cautiously.

Runo nodded; the movement making her head ache. She always got a headache after a crying session. "Kind of," she replied, clearing her throat in an attempt to keep it from sounding so hoarse. "I'm gonna go take a warm shower; could you put on a pot of coffee for me please Julie?"

"Of course, not a problem," Julie replied cheerfully.

"Thanks a lot Julie; you're a great friend," Runo said, managing a weak smile before she got up and walked to her bathroom. 'Poor Runo,' Julie thought as she watched her best friend walk away

"Why did you have me send those pictures?" Shadow asked Barodius.

"Do you recall when I told you every person has a weakness?" Barodius asked as Shadow nodded. "We're going to exploit every weakness the Kuso team has. Personal relationships are a dangerous weakness and we're going to teach them that. Right now Kuso is probably suffering from heartbreak and that will make him careless. That's when we make our move. We just need to weaken the others.".

Dan felt as if someone was playing the bongos on his head as he slowly woke up. 'What the hell,' he thought as he opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings. It took him a moment to realize he was sleeping in his bedroom, not on the living room floor. 'The guys musta brought me in.'He rolled onto his side, immediately regretting the action as his head throbbed more. His eyes locked onto the cup of water sitting on his nightstand. 'Mira probably brought it in.'He sat up slowly, drinking the water slowly. He looked at the object that sat behind the glass, feeling as if salt was being rubbed into his broken heart. A frame containing a picture of him and Runo stared back at him, Runo smiling as Dan had wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Dan flipped the frame facedown before he got out of bed, dragging himself to his bathroom.

**Hope ya liked it !**

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	12. some advice

**hey guys! Missed me?**

**I'm so sorry**

**I've been busy with school **

**But I'll make sure to update every week now**

**Any way some info on the chapter:**

**I know I've been messing up the names of the gangs by saying red demon gang sometimes and black demon gang sometimes …so I'll set it straight dan's gangs name is fire dragon gang and the other gangs name is black demon gang**

**Billy's miras brother**

**Miyoko who is dans mother and is an alcoholic …I know she's too nice to be that but for the story I had to but she's not the violent type**

**Naga is a rich human business man **

**So that's it ..i hope its all cleared **

**If you have any questions ask me okay?**

**Now this chapter is dedicated to:**

**Guest ( to all the guest reviews )**

**SmileyFlower**

** .12**

**Daniellakuso**

**diamond heart 82**

**and also to those who read the story and waited I love you guys **

**Now on with the story!**

**Some advices…**

"Naga," Barodius said as the phone was finally answered.

"Barodius, how good to hear from you," Naga replied as his maid lit his cigarette. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Do you recall the trouble I managed to help you with in Eastern Tokyo? I've come to collect my favor," Barodius said, smiling evilly.

"That sounds interesting," he replied. "What would you like me to do?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~xx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A month had passed since Runo and Dan had seen each other, since the explosion of their relationship. The time had changed both of them, worrying their respective friends. Dan had thrown himself into his work, planning more missions against the Black Demons, more ways to stop their business and trying to figure out who Shadow was, who he worked for and why they went after him and Runo. Even if he was no longer dating her, he felt it was his responsibility to make sure she was safe from the gang war; it was his fault that she was involved with it. The missions had gotten a bit more dangers, his bruises a testament to it. He wasn't being careless when he fought, but he didn't seem as quick on his feet, he didn't have the same zest for fighting that he had before, which worried his team. If they weren't out on a mission at night, it wasn't unusual to find him up late with a drink. He hadn't drunk as much as he had the night Runo had broken up with him. He would only have one glass of scotch; the last thing he wanted was to become a raging alcoholic like his mother used to be. The picture of him and Runo was moved from his nightstand to the far side of his dresser, as far as possible from his bed. He didn't have the heart to throw it out, but he couldn't stand having it too close to him. He seemed like the same old Dan, just a bit numb.

Runo, for the most part, was doing much better than the night she had broken up with Dan. She had thrown herself into her work like he had, waking up early to head to the bakery, staying there much later than she normally did, taking a taxi . After all Dan wouldn't be there to save her again if she were to be attacked; she was on her own. Her tears had stopped flowing as easily as time passed; Julie was constantly around to cheer her up with jokes and her infectious laughter. She had moved Puu from his place on her bed to her dresser; he really was too cute to throw out. Julie had tried to get her to go out with new guys, but she wasn't sure if she was ready yet. Her broken heart still felt like a fresh wound to her and thought it was healing slowly as the days went by, she wasn't sure if a new guy in her life would be a healing balm or salt in the wound. 'Maybe Julie's right; maybe I need someone new in my life,'Runo thought as the bell over her door chimed.

"Welcome to my bakery, how- oh hello again. It was Miyoko right?" Runo asked, smiling at her customer.

"Hey kiddo, long time no see," she replied, taking a sip of her coffee. "How's life been?"

"It's been better," Runo sighed, her thoughts drifiting to Dan before she shook her head to clear it quickly.

"Has that guy not shown up yet?" Miyoko asked.

"Oh he showed up," Runo replied. "He showed up and we dated for a while and then he lied to me and I broke up with him about a month ago." Runo wasn't sure why she was telling her all of this; she was just a random customer. But sometimes it was good to get an unbiased opinion.

"You broke up with him over one lie?" she asked as she looked at the sweets in the glass showcase.

"It was a pretty big lie," Runo replied, brushing her bangs from her eyes. "If he could lie about that, how do I know he wasn't lying about anything else?"

"Still like him huh?" Miyoko asked, looking at her.

Runo nodded; as much as she tried to bury her feelings over the past month, she still cared about him, worried about him. "But he lives such a dangerous life."

"Sounds like my son," she muttered under her breath. "If you really like this guy, you should give him another shot. And if you don't think you can, then you should let him go; date someone else."

"That's what my friend said," Runo said with a smile. "Anyway enough about me; what would you like?"

"Something sweet for when my hangover finally goes away," Miyoko laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~xx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naga stood outside of the Higurashi Memorial Hospital, slowly working his way through his cigarette as he waited for her to emerge. He looked down at the picture in his hand, memorizing the girl's face. She was pretty enough with her clear, porcelain skin and sweet smile and thought her hair seemed to be the most peculiar shade of orange, it suited her quite well. 'The things I do for the Barodius and zenoheld,'he thought, shaking his head. 'Well a favor is a favor. At least it's only delivering packages. Knowing them it could have been worse.'

Finally she exited the hospital, her hand going up to protect her eyes from the glare cast by the setting sun. Naga approached her as she said good-bye to her fellow nurses. "Pardon me, but are you Mira?" he asked politely.

Mira turned toward the man, wondering how he knew her name. He didn't seem to be dangerous with his blue eyes and black business suit. The only thing that suggested he might be dangerous was the scar running down the left side of his face. "Yes I am," she replied, tightening her grip on her purse.

"Naga smiled at her. "I thought you might be, but I couldn't be sure. I'm an old friend of your parents-"

"My parents?" Mira asked curiously. Mira could barely remember her parents; they passed away when she and Billy were still quite young.

"Yes your parents," he said, reaching into his pocket for an envelope. "Could you please give this to your brother for me? I've tried to find him myself, but I haven't had much luck."

"Of course, but what's in here?" she asked as she took the envelope from him.

"You'll see when he opens it. Have a nice evening Mira," he said as he walked away. 'Or not so nice depending on the contents of the envelope.'

**That's it **

**I know its short**

**I'll update it quicker this time**

**And review plss**


	13. Chapter 13

Hey **guys I missed you**

**I know I didn't keep my word again**

**And thanks again for the reviews **

**This chapter is dedicated for**

diamond heart 82

louizi eya

**thanks for the review **

**you don't wanna see**

"I'm home," Mira called as she walked into the apartment.

Ace came rushing out of his room, eager to greet his girlfriend. "Hey baby, how was your day?"

"Very busy Ace," she said as she kissed him softly. "Is Billy home?"

"I think so, not really sure thought," he replied, walking into the living room with her.

"Hey guys," she said, greeting Dan and Shun. "Billy, can you come here please?"

"Yes Mira," he said as he walked into the living room. Most people, actually anyone besides Mira would have gotten an icy response from hin, but Billy always had a soft spot in his heart for his little sister.

"I have something for you. When I came out of the hospital, a man approached me and-"

"What man?" Billy asked.

"I don't know who he is. I've never seen him but he said he was a friend of our parents so-"

"Mira," he said, along a bit of his frustration to leak into his voice as he interrupted her again. "What did I tell you about strange men approaching you?"

"To punch them in the throat, run away, and call you," she said easily, as if it was a response she had used many times. "But he didn't look dangerous. Anyway he said he was looking for you, but he couldn't find you and asked me to give you this," she said, handing him the envelope. He took it from her, wonder more about who was the man who approached his sister and why he was looking for him than what was in the envelope.

He sat on the arm of the chair, opening the envelope and taking out its contents. His eyes widened as he looked down at the pictures, but not pictures of him. They were pictures of Mira: Mira walking down the hallway of hospital, a smile on her face, her shopping in the mall with a few of her friends, her waiting outside of the hospital, even one of her walking with him one afternoon. 'Someone's been watching her,'he thought angrily.

"Mira, what did the man who gave you the envelope look like?" he asked angrily, throwing the pictures onto the coffee table. Everyone looked down at the pictures scattered across the table, their expressions varying from shock to outright anger to fear.

"These pictures are like the ones sent to Runo," Dan said, picking up a picture.

Mira felt her stomach drop in fear as she looked down at the countless pictures of herself. She didn't even know she was being watched. "He-he was tall, as tall as Ace and he had long jet black hair; it reached down to his shoulders. He wore a business suit and he had a scar down the side of his face," she said, her voice shaking.

"Don't worry Mira, I'll look after you," Ace said, pulling her close.

"You'll have to stop working," Billy said.

"What!" Mira exclaimed.

"You've been watched Mira. We don't know who or why, but you're not safe."

"I will not stop working; I do a lot of good work at the hospital," Mira replied just as stubbornly. They stared at each other for a moment, a silent conversation passing between the twins before Billy finally looked away.

"Fine, but someone goes with you everywhere," Billy said.

"Thank you Billy," she replied happily, throwing her arms around him.

"I think it's clear that someone is targeting our team specifically," Shun said as he examined the pictures more closely. "Look at this one," he said, showing them the back of a picture of Billy and Mira

."Everyone has a weakness."

"We've got to find this bastard," Dan said angrily, his blood boiling.

~~~~~~~~~~xxx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Runo stood nervously in front of the restaurant, playing with the hem of her shirt. After putting it off for a week, she decided to take Julie and Miyoko's advice and go out on a date with someone new. Julie set her up on a blind date with a family friend of hers. Runo glanced down at her watch again; he was late, only five minutes late, but late was late. 'If he's not here in five minutes, I'm leaving,'she thought, shifting her weight from one foot to another. 'Dan was never late,'she thought suddenly. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts even though they were true. No matter how busy Dan was, if he told her he would be somewhere at a certain time he would be there.

"Runo!" an unfamiliar voice called just as she turned to walk away from the restaurant. She turned around to look at the man running toward her. He was taller than her with shoulder length black hair that was tied into a ponytail and slightly tanned skin. He stopped before her, attempting to catch his breath. "Y-you're Runo, right?"

"Yes, you must be Koga," she replied with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I'm late. I got caught up at work," he said with an apologetic smile. "Come on, let's go inside."

Runo sighed as she followed him. Out of all the restaurants in all of Tokyo, Koga had to choose this one, the ramen shop Dan had taken her to the first night they went out together. 'Just my luck,' she thought.

Runo and Koga chatted casually as they scanned the menu. "So tell me about yourself," Koga said.

"What do you want me to tell you about?"

"I don't know, tell me about your family," Koga replied. Runo was struck by the déjà vu of the moment, could it have only been two months ago that she sat there with Dan asking him about his life.

Before Runo could answer, a waiter approached the table to take their orders. "Hello, welcome to the Ramen Hut. My name is Tamahome and I'll be your waiter tonight. Oh hello again," he said as he looked at Runo. "It's nice to see you again. Where's the guy with the slicked back hair?" he asked, looking at Koga.

"We're not together," Runo answered, blushing slightly. 'Of course the waiter would remember me and Dan.'

"That's a shame; you guys made a good looking couple. Anyhow what can I get you guys?" he asked. Runo ordered quickly, glad to have the attention off of her. 'It's gonna be a long night,'Runo thought, repressing a sigh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~xxxxxx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dan walked into the restaurant, his stomach growling loudly. 'Just need some food and I can go home and eat,' he thought as he approached the counter.

Tamahome's eyes widened as he saw Dan standing at the counter. "Hey Miaka," he said as he ducked back into the kitchen. "You remember that couple that came here late that night a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah, why?" Miaka asked as she dried a plate.

"The girl's here on a date with another guy and the guy from before just walked in," Tamahome said, walking out of the kitchen, Miaka on his heels. "Hey man, what can I get for you?" he asked Dan.

"Can I get three orders of beef ramen and a soda," Dan replied.

"You got it man. Hey Miaka, tell Tasuki we need 3 orders of beef ramen,: Tamahome said, turning to the girl who stood in the doorway of the kitchen.

Dan turned away from Tamahome, leaning his back against the counter when his eyes looked on Runo having dinner with someone else.

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	14. Conflicting emotions

**a long chapter for you guys**

**so this chapter to dedicated to:**

strikedeathkd53019

diamond heart 82

louizi eya

Guest ( you know who you are )

violet2971

**Conflicting emotions**

Dan felt his blood boil as he watched Runo laugh at something the man said to her. The stranger leaned forward in his seat, taking one of her hands in both of his. Discomfort flickered across Runo's face quickly before it was masked by a smile, causing Dan to push off from the counter. 'Screw this,'he thought as he walked toward the table.

Runo looked up as a shadow was cast over the table. Her eyes widened as she looked up at the person standing there. 'Dan.'

"Hey Runo, imagine meeting you here," he said coolly. "Hey man, I'm Dan," he told the stranger as he extended his hand.

"I'm Koga; how do you know Runo?" he asked.

"I'm her ex-boyfriend," he said, smirking as pain passed quickly across the man's face at Dan's tight grip. "I actually brought Runo here the first night I took her out for dinner. Must be a small world."

"Dan, let go of Koga's hand," Runo said sharply, placing her hand on his wrist.

"Anything for you Runo," Dan said, watching as Koga rubbed his hand when it was released. 'What a wuss,' he thought. "Never woulda pictured this kinda guy as your type."

"Hye, your order is read," Tamahome called from the counter.

"Guess I'll see you around Runo. Good luck with the prettyboy," he said harshly, picking up his order and walking out of the restaurant.

'That arrogant jerk!'Runo thought, pouring some ice from her empty cup into her hand and rushing out the door after Dan.

"I'll put twenty on the girl kicking his ass," Miaka said, peeking out the front door of the restaurant.

"You're on," Tamahome said, smiling at his girlfriend.

Runo rushed after Dan, throwing the handful of ice at the back of his head once he was within range. "Dan you jerk! How dare you interrupt us and say those things. What gives you the right to do that?" she shouted angrily.

Dan gritted his teeth as he felt something cold hit the back of his head and slide down his shirt. He placed his bag of food on the hood of a parked car and walked back to Runo. "You know what I said in there was true," Dan said as he stood mere inches away from her. He was nearly overwhelmed by the urge to pull her into his arms. "He's not your type."

"Oh really? How exactly would you know that?" Runo retorted, her face red with anger.

"I saw the uncomfortable look that passed on your face when he held your hand; you didn't want him touching you but you didn't wanna hurt his feelings by pulling away," Dan said triumphantly.

"That's because he surprised me, not because I didn't want him to hold my hand," Runo lied.

"Come on Runo, you dated me remember? The long hair and soft hands aren't your type. I think you prefer to be the female in the relationship. Koga isn't for you," he said, sneering his name.

"Why you-" Runo's hand swung out to slap Dan, but he caught her hand before she made contact.

Dan used his gentle hold on her wrist to tug her forward, almost causing her to trip into him. "You know the entire time you were in there with him you were remembering when we were there, remembering the times you and I shared. Face it, you and him can't compare to what you and I had Runo." Runo opened her mouth but no words came out; Dan had spoken the truth. "Nothing will ever compare to us," he said, his lips crashing down onto hers.

Runo's hands gripped Dan's shirt tightly, kissing him back for a moment…

before slapping him across the face. "You don't get to kiss me anymore. You're the one who ruined our relationship. You don't get to kiss me or give me opinions on anyone I decide to go out with," Runo said, holding back tears her voice wavering slightly.

"Whatever you say. You know I still care about you and I know you care about me too. Even if you don't wanna admit it," Dan replied, rubbing his cheek. 'Goddamn she's got one hell of a slap.'"That kiss was definitely worth getting hit over," he said, turning and walking away from her. "Stay safe Runo."

Runo turned away from Dan as he began to walk away, wanting to sink down to the concrete and cry angry, frustrated tears. But she couldn't do that; Koga was still waiting inside for her. 'He didn't even bother to come out and check on me,' she thought.

"So who won?" Miaka whispered to Tamahome as Runo walked back into the restaurant, a fake smile plastered on her face.

"I don't know, it kinda looks like they both lost," Tamahome replied

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Xxxxxx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So it appears that someone is specifically focusing on our group," Shun said to Ace and Billy. "Someone's already targeted Billy and Dan; it's safe to presume that Ace and I will be next."

"Wait, couldn't targeting Mira be a way of attacking me?" Ace asked.

"They probably don't know you're even important to her. God only knows I wish you weren't important to her," Billy said.

"Hey shrimp you better watch your mouth," Ace said heatedly.

"Now now settle down children," Shun said, trying to calm them both. On a regular basis Billy and Ace didn't get along. Now with Ace was dating Mira their relationship was strained at best and an unpinned grenade at worst. "We need to focus on the important matters at hand right now; you two can bicker later. I've thought about your point Ace but I think since Mira was asked to specifically to deliever something to Billy that's who they were trying to target. Have you spoken to your sister recently?"

"Yeah, I told Serena to keep an eye out for any suspicious men or packages," Ace replied. "What about your mom?"

"She's staying with my aunt in Yokohama while she recovers from her last round of chemo," Shun replied. The main reason Shun had joined the red Dragons was to help his adoptive mom pay her medical bills. Finding a group of friends who became family to him was just a bonus. "I'll try to do some research on who might be targeting us; it's probably the Red Demons but that doesn't narrow it down much. For now just keep an eye on Mira."

"What about Runo?" Ace asked."That's Dan's worry, not ours," Billy replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~xxxxxxxxxxxx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stupid Dan,'Runo thought dejectedly as she walked home from the restaurant. After her argument with Dan she had forced a smile onto her face and gone back inside to Koga. The evening had ended soon after that and she had politely turned down his offer to drive her home. 'Maybe that wasn't a good idea,' she thought as she looked over her shoulder for the third time since she began walking home. She wanted time alone to sort out her mind but she felt as if someone was watching her. But whenever she turned around she didn't see anyone; she didn't even glimpse anyone or hear any footsteps. 'I'm just being paranoid,' she thought, sighing in relief as she arrived at her apartment complex. She kicked off her heels as she walked inside, her feet aching.

Overall the evening hadn't been too bad before Dan had shown up. Koga was nice enough, but he was just a little boring. She didn't want to admit it but Dan was right; Koga wasn't for her. He wasn't her type, he wasn't what she wanted. But what she wanted she couldn't have anymore. Her kiss with Dan proved that she wasn't over him, she still missed him, she still cared about him, she still loved him. And that was the problem. 'If you still care about him, you should give him a second chance,'Miyoko's words echoed through her mind. "But how do i give him a second chance?" she wondered aloud, plopping onto her couch. 'How are we supposed to get past everything? We've been apart for so long.' Runo rubbed her forehead as she felt a headache developing. 'Why does everything have to be so hard?' she thought, walking to her bathroom for a long, relaxing soak in the tub.

Dan felt like banging his head against the steering wheel as he sat in his car. 'What were you thinking kissing her like that Kuso? She's on a date with another guy; she doesn't wanna be with you,'he thought. 'Idiot probably has a legit job at an actual building and shit.' Dan sighed, his mind a whirlwind of emotions. His cheek still ached slightly from the slap she had given him. 'Totally worth it for the kiss.'That kiss had been everything he missed about Runo; it was Runo embodied. It was soft and it was strong, it was sweet and it was hot. But it was much too short for his liking. 'You got slapped because she doesn't like you anymore Kuso, get your head outta your ass and face facts.''But she did kiss you back,' a small, hopeful voice answered back. He knew it was true; for a moment, as short as it was, Runo clung to him and kissed him back. 'Maybe there is hope,'he thought, starting his car.

A few days later...

"Hey baby bro," Serena said as he answered the phone.

"Hey Serena, what's going on?" Ace replied, his words garbled by the food in his mouth.

"I really hope Mira isn't there watching you talk with your mouthful; that's guaranteed to run her off," Serena said, grinding out the end of her cigarette. She kept telling herself that she would quit smoking, but it was one of the few constants in her life. She decided she'd quit when she'd have nieces and nephews running around her. 'Don't need the little ones picking up bad habits,'she thought.

"Nah Mira is working at the hospital right now; I gotta pick her up later," he replied, swallowing his food.

"Remember that package you told me to look out for?"

"Yeah, did someone come to you?" Ace asked, grabbing his jacket and walking to the door.

"Yeah, this guy handed it to me this morning. I think you need to come over and tell me what's going on little brother," Serena said.

"I'm leaving now," Ace said, hanging up on her to text the guys. "Serena's got a package too"

"So what did the guy look like?" Ace asked his sister. After explaining the situation to Serena, and getting a punch from her for not telling her sooner, he had opened the envelope to find a stack of pictures of her. 'Great,'Ace had thought. 'There's no doubt someone is after us.'

"He was tall, he had black hair that reached down passed his shoulders. He had blue eyes and a scar down the right side of his face. He asked me for a light. He was kinda cute," Serena laughed.

"Sis, this is serious," Ace said, wondering how his sister could laugh at this.

"I know Ace; I asked him who was sending the envelope and he said that's not for me to say. Why is someone going after you and the guys?" she asked.

"I don't know, Shun is trying to figure out who it is, but I don't think he has any leads yet. Sis, I think you should go away for a while," Ace said seriously.

"Why?" Serena said, exhaling her cigarette smoke.

"It's getting dangerous! We don't know who's sending these pictures or what they want," he exclaimed.

"And I can take care of myself little brother. Or shall I remind you?" she said, cracking her knuckles.

Ace shook his head quickly, leaning away from his sister. Serena may not look it, but she had a killer punch. "Just be careful okay?" he said, getting off the couch. "Make sure you lock your doors at night and call me if anything suspicious happens."

"Yes mom," she said sarcastically. "Tell Mira I said hi and that we gotta go out for lunch one day," she said, opening the door for her brother. Even though dating Ace made Serena question Mira's sanity, she really did like her. Just the right amount of sweetness to balance out her little brother's insanity.

"Will do sis," he said as he left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~XXXXXXXXXXXXXX~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Billy sighed as he walked through the park , his hands shoved inside his was all getting too complicated.

He knew he could protect his sister ,but what if he couldn't …..

He smirked 'even if he wasn't there which he would be mira will still be protected by her idiot fiancé or by kuso or shun . he trust them though he would never say it out loud , then there was serena she could protect herself much better than her idiot brother , then there was dan's girl or ex…they wouldn't go after her now since they've broken up but that moron still likes her…whatever like he said that's dan's business any-

"what the hell ? watch were you're going" he snapped at the girl who just knocked in to him while standing up

"I'm sorry I was in a hurry" the silver haired girl infront on him said

"whatever clumsy" he said in his usual cold voice.

"hey no need to be so rude I said I was sorry" she snapped at him.

This girl ran in to him and now she dare to talk back to him she must have a death wish .he could just kill her with one blow .

He glared at her.

She glared right back at him.

"oh shit I have to go I'm late" she suddenly exclaimed and ran off to some random direction.

"airhead" he muttered and walked away.

**Hey guys soooo how was it**

**Please review because I don't know if guys still like the story or not or want me to continue or not**


	15. INFORMATION

INFORMATION

**HEY GUYSS **

**NEW CHAPTER**

**SO IF YOU'RE A YU YU HAKUSHO FAN YOU SHOULD READ "UNEXPECTED MEETINGS" BY NINJANERVANA WHICH IS THE STORY THAT I LIKED AND DECIDED TO DO A BAKUGAN VERSION OF IT AKA NEVER LET YOU GO **

**SO IF YOU'RE A YU YU HAKUSHO FAN YOU SHOULD READ IT**

**SO MOST OF THE PLOT CREDIT GOES TO NINJANERVANA BUT I AM ADDING A FEW OF MY TWISTS AND TURNS AND CHANGES AND MY OWN CELESTIAL TOUCH TO IT SO EVEN IF YOU READ IT ….THE ENDING MIGHT NOT BE THE SAME .**

**DEDICATION:**

strikedeathkd53019

violet2971

diamond heart 82

louizi eya

FearlessWind

BakuganLover

Guest

NairaMisaki1234

**Guys I also would be really grateful if you all would help find the person who copied my friend missyplatina's story**

"So what do you think we should do?" Ace asked Shun as he sat at the desk.

"I'm not sure honestly. Your sister makes the third person that's been targeted. It's pretty safe to assume that my mother would be next if she was still in Tokyo," Shun said.

"I suggest we simply go out and start killing Black Demons until someone answers our questions," Billy said. "Someone's bound to answer our questions if we get rid of enough people."

"How about we save that plan for last idiot?" Ace said. "Do you think we should go to the man at the top?"

"I don't think so, at least not yet. But we could probably benefit from asking her a few questions. She was in charge of the southern district for years; if anyone would have some good advice it would be here," Shun replied. "Let's just wait till Dan gets home and discuss it with him. She did pick him herself."

"Yeah where is Kuso?" Ace asked, looking back and forth between Shun and Billy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~xxxxx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Now why don't you tell me about Shadow," Dan said dangerously, his grip tightening on the man's neck. After finding out Serena had received an envelope of pictures, Dan decided to do his own kind of research. Shun was trying his best to dig up information on who was targeting his team, but Dan wasn't the type to sit around and wait. Which led him to be in a dark alleyway, his hand clamped around the neck of a Black Demon gang member. After all, what better way to get information than straight from the source.

"W-who's asking?" the man stuttered, struggling to draw a breath as Dan slowly crushed his wind pipe.

Dan forced himself to loosen his grip slightly; the man was no good to him if he passed out. "Dan Kuso of the red Dragons." He noticed as the man's eyes widened slightly, fear shining in its black depths. He had to admit, it made him a little smug with pride. "So you've heard of me then. Why don't you just answer my question and we can both go home tonight." The Black Demon member looked around the alleyway for something, anything to get Dan off of him. "Hey I got all night you know. But the longer I have to wait, the less happy I'm gonna be and the more pain you're gonna be in," he said menacingly. "And I've been very polite so far, don't ya think?"

"You w-wanna know about Shadow," the man said slowly.

Dan nodded. 'Didn't I just say that?'Dan thought. 'Maybe the lack of oxygen is making him stupid.'

"sh -shadow works for the Black Demons."

"Yeah I actually figured as much. How bout you tell me something useful?" Dan said, annoyed. "I may have all night but I don't wanna be here all night."

"He works at the top; he doesn't run the streets like I do."

"Then why is he so interested in me and my team?" Dan asked. "What does he want with us?"

"You probably pissed off s-someone at the top," the gang member stuttered. He wasn't sure who he was more afraid of at the moment: the Black Demons who would have his head once they found out he spoke to Dan or Dan himself, his eyes full of fire and his hand around his throat. The sound of a kicked can had Dan turning toward the entrance of the alley, his hand still firmly around the guy's throat.

'Oh shit,'Dan thought as five men walked toward them.

"Yo why don't you let our friend go?" the tallest man said.

"I'm having a conversation with your friend; why don't you come back in an hour and see if he's still in one piece?" Dan replied.

"Wrong answer buddy," the man said as he walked toward Dan. 'Looks like imma get a workout tonight,'he thought, tightening his hold on the man's neck.

Dan stumbled out of the alleyway, weaving slightly as he tried to make it to his car without passing out. Despite his earlier cockiness, the fight hadn't been easy; though six-on-one's rarely were. He was doing pretty well until one of them pulled a knife. Then things started to get bad. Dan could feel the blood oozing from the stab wound in his side onto the hand that covered it. He could hear mira lecturing him now about how important it is to stay still when you're bleeding. Even with all those guys unconscious, staying still was not an option at the moment. He needed help and he needed it now. Dan felt his vision swim as he sat in his car, the colors blurring before his eye. Dan knew he would never stay conscious long enough to make it back to his apartment but he couldn't just bleed out in his car. 'There's only one place to go,' he thought, fighting against the grip of unconsciousness that threatened to pull him under.

He haphazardly parked his car and staggered out, nearly falling over his own two feet as he forced himself forward. He knew he was swaying like a drunk but he didn't have the energy to correct it as he passed through the doors, the weight of it making it difficult to open. He hit the doorbell with the palm of his hand, leaving a slightly bloody handprint as he leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down to the ground. Dan had no more energy left to give and for the first time he wondered if he was going to die. 'Open the door,'he thought as his vision faded to black.

"where the hell did kuso ran off to?" billy thought as he walked towards the park.

It was the only place he could actually think peacefully , back at their home its always so noisy .

HE stopped walking as he reached his favorite tree , it was in abandoned part of the park away from all the noise so it was his favorite spot .

"hey I know you ! you're the mean guy I bumped in to two days ago!"

He turned around with a frown to see the silver haired clumsy girl.

"you mean you crashed in to" he retorted , his frown turning in to a smirk as he watched her face turn red with anger.

"I did not besides I did say sorry"

He had no idea why he was talking to her normally he just ignored people but there's something abou-no no he's just gonna ignore her.

"what do you want?" he asked wanting to get it over with

"nothing this is my favorite spot I'm just here to read my book its called 'unexpected meetings' by ninjanervana" she held up the book so he could see it.

"I don't care about your stupid book but this is my spot"

"well too bad I'm gonna read my book in MY favorite spot which is here"

She sat down and began to read ignoring him completely.

He growled . theres nothing he could do unless he could kill her but as nice as it seems shun would never let him hear the end of it if he did that, he'll just have to ignore her too .

His looked at the sky , the trees around him slowly his eyes wandered over to her , the way her face reflected whatever she was reading….he found it amusing

Hours went by as he watched her and as she read her book completely unaware of the eyes that was watching her

Billy finally out of his trance looked around to see that the sun was about to set , it was getting darker .

He looked to his left and saw that she was still reading.

He walked over to her.

"hey you should go its getting dark"

"huh what?"

"I said you should go"

"right I should…" she stood up brushing dirt off her clothes.

"so I guess I'll see you around….."

"billy" he said

"right billy , my name is Julie"

He nodded

"I should probably go so bye billy"

She smiled her biggest smile at him and began to walk back home.

When he knew she was out of his sight he smiled a small smile and began to walk back home

"that girl was very interesting"

Review plss


	16. My precious treasure

**Hey guys **

**Missed me?**

**Thanks for waiting for me again **

**So here have some cookies *offers cookies***

**Short chapter I know but its better than nothing right?**

**Dedicated to**

louizi eya

NairaMisaki1234

diamond heart 82

strikedeathkd53019

violet2971

**My precious treasure**

Runo felt her heart drop as her doorbell rang, jolting her awake. She glanced at her clock quickly as she climbed out of bed; it was a little after two in the morning. She felt her stomach twist with worry; something was wrong, very very wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it. 'Better not be some stupid kids playing tricks,' she thought as she looked through her door's peephole. She couldn't see anyone through it, but decided to open her door just on case.

Runo gasped as she opened the door, her heart stopping for a moment. 'Dan!' she thought as she bent down to him. "Dan," she said softly, resting her hand against his cheek. His skin was ice cold. She had never seen him look so horrible, covered in bruises. "Dan, wake up," she called again. 'Could he have been knocked unconscious?' she wondered. She felt her stomach lurch as she noticed the small puddle of blood next to him. Panic energized her as she pulled one of his arms over her shoulder and slowly dragged him onto her couch. 'I need to stop the bleeding,' she thought as she rushed into the bathroom wishing she had gone to nursing instead of culinary school. Runo tried to think of her next move as she attempted to slow Dan's bleeding. 'He needs a doctor but he wouldn't want to go to the hospital. He needs...Mira!' She fumbled through his pants pockets, blushing faintly until she managed to dig out his slightly blood smeared phone. "Hang on Dan; I'm getting you help."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mira darted out of her room, fumbling slightly as she pulled on a coat over her pajamas. "Billy, Ace, Shun," she called, her voice thick with worry and fear. "Dan's hurt." Mira had been surprised to see Dan's name flash on her phone late at night; she was even more surprised to hear Runo's frantic voice nearly cracking with unshed tears. The guys came rushing out of their room at Mira's call.

"What's going on babe?" Ace asked sleepily.

"What do you mean Dan's injured?" Billy said.

"Runo just called; Dan's at her place and he's really hurt so we need to go now," she said, grabbing Billy and Ace's shirts and dragging them to the door. "Shun, get all the supplies ready; it might be a long night," Mira said as she rushed out the door, the boys close on her heels.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The minutes she had to wait until Mira arrived at her apartment would go down as the longest minutes of Runo Misaki's life. No tests, date, worry or embarrassment could ever compare to the pulse pounding moments she spent watching over Dan. She watched as his chest slowly rose and fell in short, shallow breaths, his heart beating at a slow, sluggish pace. Runo knew it was a very real possibility that Dan could die that night and the mere thought had her blood freezing in her veins. A million other things could happen that night: a meteor could crash into the center of Japan, Godzilla could come to life and destroy Tokyo as he did in all of the clichéd horror movies, a zombie apocalypse could begin. But Dan dying was one thing that absolutely could not happen. Runo held his cold hand between both of her, whispering soft words of encouragement to him, begging him not to give up. Her eyes were filled with tears she refused to cry; right now Dan was the most important thing. He always was to her.

It took 8 minutes and 27 seconds for Mira and the boys to arrive at Runo's apartment, practically knocking down the door as they banged on it. She rushed to the door, quickly throwing open the locks and letting them in. Mira rushed into the living room, a first aid kit in hand.

"Runo, what happened?" Ace asked.

"I don't know, I woke up to my doorbell ringing and when I opened it, Dan was on the floor, unconscious and bleeding," Runo said, a hint of hysteria creeping into her voice.

"Don't worry; Mira will take care of him," Ace said, following Billy into the house.

Mira had made quick work of re-wrapping Dan's wound, grimacing at how pale his skin had gotten. 'At least Runo had the sense to wrap his wound or he'd be dead from blood loss by now,' she thought. "Dan's ready to be moved back to the apartment; I can't do anything more for him. Billy, grab his legs and Ace grab his arms."

The boys followed her orders quickly, moving Dan rapidly to the front door. "I'm coming too," Runo said, grabbing her bag off the table as she followed them to the door. Mira turned toward her, taking in her state. Runo was disheveled and frazzled but the determined glint left no mistake that she would not be left behind. Mira nodded, nearly sprinting out the door to the car. Time was of the essence.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Runo took her first deep breath since she found Dan unconscious at 4:13 am. Mira had finally called everyone into Dan's room, letting them know that he would be alright. He had lost a lot of blood and he would take a few days to regain his strength and a few weeks for his wound to heal, but it didn't look like it would cause any lasting damage. Runo felt her knees give out in relief slowly sliding down the wall. 'Dan's gonna be okay,' she chanted over and over again in her mind, tears slipping down her cheeks.

"You okay Runo?" Mira asked as she knelt next to her.

Runo nodded, quickly brushing the tears from her cheeks as the guys stared at her in confusion. "I'm just so relieved," she said softly, fearing her voice would crack. "I was scared we were gonna lose him."

"I would never let us lose Dan," Mira said with a smile. "Okay guys, everyone get out and go back to bed. We'll see you in the morning Runo," she said as she ushered the boys out of the room, firmly closing the door behind her.

Runo pulled a chair close to Dan's bed, yawning as the lateness of the hour finally hit her. She slowly stroked her fingers through his hair, relaxing at the soft texture. "I thought I was gonna lose you Dan," she said softly. She kissed his forehead softly, lacing her fingers between his. "I can't let you go that easily."

**Review please**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guysss**

**My exams were finished today and I'm gonna fail accountancy**

**So to celebrate that im gonna post a new chapter**

**And thank you guest for pointing out the mistake I actually always mix up the colors …..honestly I don't know why and btw I always thought dan had reddish brown eyes **

**And it's a happy chapter !**

**So guys please review and point out my mistakes**

**This chapter is dedicated to every wonderful person out there! Yea that includes you**

**Always be your amazing self**

**Never change!**

_**PLANNING**_

"I've heard from an underling that Dan Kuso has been injured in a late night scuffle," Barodius said, smiling wickedly.

"You speak to underlings?" Zehnold said, surprise leaking into his voice.

"No but I do keep an ear out for certain names. Kuso fought six men last night and one person is positive they stabbed him well."

"Will he die?" Zehnold said.

"Probably not; he's a fighter. He'll most likely be out of commission for a few days," Barodius replied.

"Should we make our move now?"

"No. Let's wait and see. We have time to plan our next move. It will have to be well-planned," Barodius said, picking up his phone. "I have to call in another favor."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dan groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. He felt like he had been trampled by a pack of elephants. 'What happened?'he thought, too sore to even force his eyelids open. The night came back slowly: him interrogating the Black Demon member in the alley, the other guys that showed up to help the little weasel, the fight that ensued, the blood, there was so much blood, and ringing Runo's doorbell. 'Runo!'he thought, his eyes snapping open. The first thing he noticed was someone's head resting near his stomach, their hair covering their face. 'It couldn't be.' Dan felt his heart pounding as he gently pushed the hair from the person's face, a small smile on his lips. 'She's here,' he thought happily, gently running his fingers through her hair. He didn't have much energy to do anything else anyway. He didn't want to wake her; he knew she'd be out the door once she saw he was fine. Dan was happy just to enjoy that moment. He watched as Runo's eyelids fluttered slowly, her emerald eyes opening to look up at him.

"Dan?" she said sleepily.

"Hey," he replied, smiling at her. 'Well she's not running.'

"Dan!" she exclaimed, jumping up to hug him, tears running down her cheeks.

"Ow, Runo that hurts," he groaned, his arms wrapping around her. He tightened his arms around her as she tried to pull back, blushing slightly. "I didn't say to go anywhere; just don't tackle me like that again."

"Okay," Runo laughed through her tears, gazing at Dan. "I'm so glad you're awake."

"Yeah, so glad you're crying," he said sarcastically, sitting up as he brushed the tears away from her cheeks. He pulled her onto the bed next to him, holding her hands gently. "You don't need to cry over me."

"You scared me so much Dan," she said softly, looking down at their intertwined hands. "When I found you, you had lost so much blood. I-I thought…I thought I w-was gonna lose y-you," she said, a sob escaping her throat.

Dan felt his heart clench as he looked at Runo's heartbroken face. "Hey it's okay," he said, pulling her into his arms, allowing her hot tears to wet his chest. "It's gonna take more than a little stab wound to do me in; everything's alright now." Dan rubbed her back gently as Runo cried herself out; all the tears that went unshed the night before finally coming out in a torrent of emotion.

Runo finally regained control of her emotions, sniffling slightly as she calmed down. She pulled back slightly, looking at Dan with red-rimmed eyes. She hesitated for a moment before she slowly leaned in, kissing Dan slowly. The kiss quickly escalated, their weeks apart driving them forward. "I missed you so much Dan," she said as they pulled apart.

"I missed you too Runo," he replied, brushing his thumb across her cheek gently. "I was going crazy without you."

"Do you think…do you think we could try again?" Runo asked hesitantly.

"Why Runo did you miss me?" he teased.

"You bet I did," she replied, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him in for a passionate kiss.

They finally parted as the need for oxygen grew. "I wanna start over with us," Dan said, resting his forehead against hers. "No secrets this time I swear; I won't lie to you again."

"I'd like that," Runo replied, smiling happily. This is where her heart wanted to be.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Well thanks to Dan's incredible investigating skills-" Shun said.

"Hey, don't be jealous just because I got the information pounding some guy's face in instead of trying to find it through less violent ways," Dan said from his seat on the couch. The entire gang sat in the living room, gathered for an informal Red Dragon meeting.

"I suggested your method Dan," Billy said from his perch on the chair arm next to Mira. "Shun disapproved."

"Well Shun is the level headed one," Ace said, putting his arm around Mira. "Look what happened to Kuso; I don't wanna end up like him."

"I had a six-on-one fight and got stabbed in the side and I can still hand your ass to you Ace," Dan said, cracking his knuckles. Runo laughed as she watched Dan and Ace argue with each other. Even in serious situations, the guys were joking around.

"Like I was saying!" Shun yelled, keeping Dan and Ace from pummeling each other. "Thanks to Dan's information we know we're looking for someone at the top of the Black Demon ladder."

"The real question is why are they coming after us?" Ace asked.

"I'm thinking it has to do with all of the shipments we've been intercepting fool," Billy said coolly.

"Billy is right; that's the most likely reason that someone is trying to attack the people we care for. The only question is who is at the top. No one seems to know who it is that runs the Black Demons," Shun said.

"Do you think we should go see the old hag and try to find out if she knows anything?" Dan asked, pulling Runo closer to him.

"We were actually thinking about that yesterday while you were out interrogating people. She's the most likely person to know about this," Shun replied.

"Then that's that," Dan said. "We're gonna take a field trip to go see Grandma, kiddies."


	18. meeting new people

_**Thank you guys for waiting and for the wonderful reviews **_

_**My family was in a financial crisis and wasn't able to pay the bills so yeah no internet**_

_**OMG 99 reviews 1 more and we'll reach 100 **_

_**I wonder who that amazing person will be**_

_**And there will be no billyxjulie in this I'll be doing a separate whole chapter on it later … don't worry I'm already working on it**_

_**Dedicated to everyone ….review plsss**_

_**enjoy**_

meeting new people

"So who are we going to see?" Runo asked as they began to climb the high staircase up the side of a mountain.

After a quick meeting in the living room everyone departed to handle the tasks they were given. Shun was going to talk to his informants on the inside of the Black Demon gang. Billy and Ace were going to drop Mira at work before visiting other Fire dragon members to see if they had any information about the Black Demon's top leader. If that failed, the pair were going to head to Eastern Tokyo to do reconnaissance tomorrow while Dan and Shun went to Western Tokyo. For now though, Runo and Dan were going to visit the former Fire dragon leader for the Southern District.

"We're going to visit Grandma," Dan replied, smiling. He was happy Runo had decided to come with him on this little trip. He wasn't sure if she would accept when he asked if she wanted to come, but she said yes easily, although she insisted on being taken home to shower and change. Within an hour they were driving out of Tokyo, a basket of sandwiches packed and ready.

"I'm serious Dan," she said, shoving his shoulder slightly. "Who could you possibly know who lives all the way out here?" Runo had been surprised when Dan drove so far away from Tokyo; she assumed a gang leader, even a former one, would stay close to the city.

"I told you we're going to see Grandma. At least that's what I call her," he laughed. "Remind me to tell her to install an escalator," he said as they finally reached the top of the staircase.

Runo's eyes widened as she took in her surroundings, her eyes drinking in the place. It looked like a beautiful paradise dropped onto the side of a mountain. The entire area seemed to be a plateau carved into the side of the mountain. The entire area was filled with foliage, trees and flowers covered almost every surface. A stone path led the way to what seemed to be a dojo. "Dan, who lives here?" she said softly. "It's beautiful."

"At least someone appreciates it," a voice said from the dojo. The door slid open, revealing a small old woman, dressed in old fashioned fighting clothes.

"Hey Oberus," Dan said, raising a hand in greeting.

"What are you doing here dimwit?" she replied.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You seem like a smart girl; what are you doing with a fool like Dan?" Oberus asked, sipping her tea. The three of them sat in her living room, each with a cup of tea in hand.

"You know I'm right here?" Dan said dryly. "The least you could do is not insult me in front of my girlfriend you old hag."

"Call me old hag again and I'll kick you ass in front of your girlfriend," she replied.

Runo suppressed a laugh, not wanting to spit her tea out. Since the moment Oberus had opened her door, she and Dan had been verbally sparing to the amusement of Runo. 'They argue so much, but they seem so similar,also I feel as if I've seen her before'she thought.

"So what are you two doing here? I'm assuming you didn't come here because you happened to be driving by. What kind of trouble have you gotten into this time?" Oberus asked.

"We've got some problems with the Black demons," Dan replied, putting his cup down. "They've been targeting the people closest to me and the guys: Runo, Mira, Serena. We wanted to know if you knew who was at the top of the black Demon Ladder."

"How would Oberus know?" Runo asked, looking back and forth between Dan and Oberus.

"I used to be the Southern district leader a few years ago. I was the one who suggested Dan take over the area when I left and the big man up to approved it," Oberus.

"He's not that big," Dan said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, do you know about who runs the Red Demon gang or not? We've got big problems with them."

"What could you have possibly done to get them angry with you?" Oberus asked. "Tell me everything that's happened."

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"What do you think you're doing calling a meeting in a place like this? You know I'll be murdered if anyone in the Black demons find out I even know you," Ura said anxiously, looking over his shoulder. "I don't wanna die you know."

"Well if you don't provide me with the information I want, you may still die, just at my hand instead of the Black demons," Shun said coolly. He watched Urashima shiver at his disguised threat. "Now tell me who runs the Black demons."

Urashima looked over his shoulder again, sinking lower in the restaurant booth. "The Black demons are run by a pair of brothers,. They have another guy working close to them, kinda like a right hand man. His name's Shadow. There's also Volt, but he's more brawn than brains you know?"

"Do you know why they would be coming after us?" Shun asked.

"I don't know; they don't tell me anything. I'm just a little guy," Urashima replied, looking like a deer in the headlights.

"Are you sure Urashima? Because if I find out you're lying to me and allowing the people I care for to be put in danger I will come find you. And no one in the Black demons will be able to protect you from my wrath," Shun said dangerously.

'What did I get myself into?'Urashima thought as he tugged at the collar of his shirt. He was suddenly reminded of the proverb that warned of the dangers of serving two masters. "I don't know anything for sure but I've been hearing rumors about them being mad about some of his shipments being stolen and wanting to get rid of the problem. I don't know if that's you guys or not, but he intends to do something about it. And he always follows through on his plans." Urashima's phone vibrated on the tabletop, causing him to jump. "I gotta go," he said, getting up from his seat and quickly scurrying out of the restaurant.

'We are in trouble,'Shun said, leaving the restaurant.

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"So our boy Dan's gotten himself into a spot of trouble with the Black demons eh?" Lync asked, pouring himself another glass of sake.

"Yeah well more than a bit and we're all in this mess," Ace replied. Ace and Billy had spent the afternoon looking for Lync before eventually finding him in a bar. "Do you know anything about the Black demons?"

"I know lots bout 'em," Lync replied.

"What the fool means to ask is do you know why they're coming after us and how they might attack us next," Billy said. He wasn't too afraid of who was coming after then, but Billy was concerned about Mira. She couldn't defend herself and he couldn't be with her 24/7 as hard as he tried.

"Well from what I've heard, Dan has become a bit of a pain in the ass for the Demons. Someone up top must not be too pleased," Lync said, taking his drink. "Now I don't know for sure what their next move will be, but if I was them, I'd get rid of one of yous. Ya know divide and conquer. Bloody brilliant strategist I am."

"More like an alcoholic," Billy retorted, heading to the door.

"You tell Dan if he needs any extra muscle to gimme a buzz," Lync said as Ace walked away. "I owe 'im a favor or two."

"You've gotten in way over your head," Oberus said as Dan finished his story. "You've brought the wrath of the Black demons down on you and not just any Demon, but barodius. Didn't I tell you to stay out of trouble when I left you in charge dimwit?"

"I don't remember, I musta forgotten to clean my ears that day," Dan replied.

"If you wanna be a smart ass, then fine go get yourself killed. But now you've dragged her into it," Oberus said, pointing at Runo. "You're all in trouble now."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Dan asked seriously.

"You're going to have to attack first. Get information on Barodius, find where his base is and hit him before he gets you all. You're in the big leagues now dimwit. Get Runo a gun or something."

"A g-gun?" Runo stuttered. "What am I going to do with a gun?"

Oberus's face softened as she looked at Runo. She probably hoped to slowly wade into the gang life waters and here she was basically being pushed into the pool. "The Black demons know about you. They've watched you, they know you're important to Dan. If they want to go after Dan, they'll go for you, his biggest weakness. If you don't want a gun, get a switchblade or a taser. Learn some self-defense moves at the very least. The same goes for Serena and Mira."

Runo nodded, her mind spinning. "I can do the defense class," she said softly.

"And I'll get her a taser," Dan said.

"Make sure you take good care of her Dan. I like her; she's much smarter than you. Call the big guy if you need the help," Oberus said, leading them to the door.

"I'll keep that in mind as a last resort," Dan said.

The walk down the mountain stairs was a silent one, Dan wrapped in his thoughts. He wanted to kick himself for putting Runo in danger. He had known when he first met her it would be dangerous to bring her into his world and yet he still did it. Runo watched him brooding, wanting to talk to him but knowing he needed time with his thoughts. He was probably just as worried as she was.

"I'm sorry," Dan said as they got into the car.

"For what?" Runo asked.

"For bringing you into this mess. I knew it would be dangerous for you but I still did it anyway. I'm really sorry Runo."

"It's okay Dan."

"No it's not," he shouted, punching his steering wheel. "You should be safe; not worrying about people watching you or having to defend yourself. You should have a normal life."

"Dan," Runo said as she gently took his face in her hands. "I knew exactly what I was getting into by getting back together with you. I don't regret anything."

Dan kissed her palm, shaking his head as he started the car. He didn't agree with her but there was no point arguing about it.

As they neared Tokyo, Dan's phone began to ring. "Check who it is for me," Dan asked, presuming it was one of the guys.

"It's your mom," Runo replied.

"Shit, answer and put her on speaker for me please. Hey Ma," Dan said as Runo put his phone on the center console.

"Dan Dan, I thought you were coming over for dinner last night," his mother said.

Dan winced at her shrill tone. "Sorry Ma, I got caught up with work last night." Which technically was true. He was caught up fighting and getting stabbed.

"You mean you got caught up beating someone up last night. I know you're busy with the fire Dragons but you could have at least called me," she scolded. "Why don't you come over for lunch now?"

"Uh…I'm kind of busy right now," he said, glancing at Runo

"With work or a girl?" she asked, causing Runo to laugh. "So it is a girl. Well bring her to lunch too."

"Ma, I don't know-"

"I'd love to come for lunch," Runo interrupted. "We'll be there soon.

""Great, I'll see you two in a little bit then," his mother replied as she hung up.

"What?" Runo asked innocently as Dan glared at her. "It'll be fun."

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What kind of mess have you gotten yourself into Dan?'Oberus thought as she watched them walk down the staircase. She knew from the moment she saw Dan that he came bearing very good or very bad news. She had hoped for good news when she had seen the girl, Runo, hoped that maybe her favorite dimwit was getting married. It would have been nice to see him settle down; he wouldn't want to leave the Black Dragons but he could have a wife by his side. 'At least he's got a girlfriend.

'Oberus found herself liking Runo already though she barely knew her. She seemed to be Dan's opposite yet his complement. They were a good match and there was no hiding the quiet happiness on Dan's face. At last her dimwit had found love in time for a possible gang war. She sighed as she sat on her front porch. She was tired of the gang life; she stepped down from her position to escape it at last. Besides Dan and his friends, she didn't really have any more connections. And yet here she was getting dragged back in. She had told Dan to stay out of trouble when he took over her position. She had hoped to live out the remainder of her years in peace. But she couldn't leave Dan to face Barodius alone; she knew Barodius too well to do that to Dan. She took her phone out of her pocket, hitting the second speed dial.

"Hello. I think Dan may need some help.

""Help with what?" the person asked.

"The Barodiuss."

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Dan resisted the urge to bang his head against the dashboard as he parked in front of his mother's house. Bringing Runo to his old home to meet his mom and have lunch was NOTon his agenda for the day.

"So did you grow up in this neighborhood?" Runo asked, looking around at the modest middle class houses.

"I wish I grew up somewhere this nice," Dan replied, shutting off the car. "I only moved Ma out here when I started making money. My old neighborhood wasn't that great.

"Not that great was an understatement. His old neighborhood was a rundown, poor area where they barely managed to get by. His mother had gotten pregnant when she was in high school and had Dan pretty young. It had only been the two of them and she tried hard to support them both though she squandered her money occasionally on liquor. Once Dan was old enough, he started running with the Black Demons, increasing his income as he rose up the ladder. His mother tried to convince him to leave the gang but he refused now that he could help his mom with the bills. It later got to a point where Dan could provide for both of them and moved them to a better house.

"Just letting you know, my mom's a little crazy," he said as he rang the doorbell.

"Aren't they all?" Runo laughed. "Don't worry, it'll all be fine." Runo's eyes widened as the door opened. "Miyoko!" she exclaimed.

"Hey kiddo," she replied, equally surprised. "I didn't expect you to be Dan's girl."

"Wait, how do you guys know each other?" Dan asked, looking from one person to the other. This wasn't exactly how he pictured everything.

"Your mom's come into my bakery a few times, although I didn't know she was your mom at the time," Runo explained, cringing internally as she thought about all the things she had told Miyoko about Dan.

"Which means you're the asshole who kept Runo waiting so long for you to finally man up and ask her out and then you went and broke her heart," Miyoko said angrily, smacking the back of Dan's head. "What's wrong with you, you idiot? You're lucky to have someone like Runo."

Dan shook his head as he walked into the house. "I'm her son and she already likes you better," Dan said to Runo.

"Well at least you had the sense to get back with her," Miyoko said. "Come on, let's get lunch and you can tell me all about how you two met.

"The afternoon sped by with ease as they all ate lunch and talked. Runo was actually glad that Miyoko turned out to be Dan's mom. She had been so worried about trying to say the right thing and make a good impression; she was a mess of nerves on the inside. But Miyoko seemed like an old friend, making jokes, laughing at their stories. She already knew Runo's side of the story; now she was getting Dan's. She was surprised Miyoko was so calm about Dan's involvement with the fire Dragons, asking causally about his teammates and his missions. 'Maybe I'll be that nonchalant one day,'Runo thought.

"You make sure you hold onto Runo, Dan. I'll never forgive you if you let her slip out of your fingers," Miyoko said as they walked out of the house.

"Don't worry Ma, I won't lose her twice," Dan said.

"It was nice seeing you again Runo. Feel free to stop by if Dan gives you any trouble."

"I'll hold you too that Miyoko," Runo laughed.

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"So Dan's been doing research too," Barodius said as he looked at Shadow.

"Yes, it seems he's trying to discover who the leader of the Black demons are," Shadow replied.

"And has he had any luck yet?" he asked, grinning evilly.

"I believe he knows who you are, but he doesn't know anything about you as of yet."

"Hm, I guess we'll have to give him some incentive. Send Volt in when you leave," Barodius said, the wheels in his evil mind turning.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Chapter 19**_

**Hope you all like it**

Julie sighed as Runo left her apartment, an extra spring in her step. Julie was uneasy when Runo had told her she was back with Dan. The last thing she wanted was to see her best friend heartbroken again. It was hard enough to see that the first time. But Julie couldn't deny how Runo seemed to shine with happiness.'If Dan break her heart again, I'll break his legs with a sledgehammer,'Julie thought as her phone rang.'Hopefully things will work out this time; Runo did say they worked out their problems.'

"Hello," Julie said as she answered the phone. "Oh hi Grams, how are you?...Of course you can stay with me if you visit Tokyo; I'd love it...Okay just let me know when you're coming. Bye Grams."

'I hope I get to see billy today'julie thought.'its not like I want to see him but it would be nice to see him. He is like this dark mysterious person just like hiei from my favorite book'

They both have been meeting each other at their spot for over 2 months now. But sometimes he wouldn't come and that would leave her with a pain in her heart. Sometimes he would just sit there watching as she read her book. One time he fell asleep leaning against her .

She felt giddy thinking about him. Its not like she liked him or anything. Nope she didn't like him…nope no way

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Runo smiled at the doorman as she entered the building, loaded with bags. He had grown used to seeing Runo several times a week, constantly visiting the boys. Their apartment had quickly become a second home to her; she'd even slept over once.

_Flashback_

Dan and Runo had stayed up late one evening watching movies in his bedroom. Dan and the guys didn't have a mission that evening and Runo had come over after closing the bakery, wanting to spend some quality time with him. Dan could see Runo was too tired to do anything much so they settled into his bed with popcorn and a few movies.

Runo had fallen asleep within the first hour, the long work day draining her energy. Dan didn't mind; he knew how hard she worked at her bakery. And she looked so cute cuddle up against him, her head on his shoulder and her arm draped across his stomach. He was happy to listen to her slow, steady breathing as he rubbed her back. She had woken up around two in the morning, confused momentairly about where she was. She looked up to see Dan still awake, a small smile on his lips.

"Sorry I fell asleep," she said softly, her voice thick with sleep.

"It's okay; you were tired," he replied, kissing her forehead softly. Runo loved these tender moments. Dan wasn't afraid to show affection in front of his friends but there was something about these loving moments that no one else could see that made her melt inside. "Do you want me to take you home?"

Runo glanced at his clock, shaking her head when she saw how late it was. "Can I just borrow some clothes to sleep in?" Dan gave her a pair of shorts and an oversized t-shirt and after changing quickly in the bathroom, she climbed into bed with him and promptly fell asleep.

_Flashback end_

Runo pulled the apartment key from her bag, struggling to slide it into the lock as she shifted the grocery bags she carried. Finally she got the door open, stumbling through with her bags. She paused as she shut the door, a soft sound reaching her ears. Usually the apartment was empty at that hour. Runo gently set the bags on the floor, creeping slowly toward the living room. She was surprised to find Billy in the living room, spinning a sword like a samurai reincarnated. Runo was mesmerized by the sight: the easy with which Billy handled the sword, the way the sunlight reflected off the smooth blade, the fluidity of his movements.

"What are you doing here?" Billy asked, turning toward Runo.

"Oh I just came over to make dinner," she replied.

Billy nodded, turning away as he began practicing with his sword again. Runo came over every few days to cook dinner for them and though Billy would never say it, he was grateful for it; Mira needed a break.

Runo brought the bags into the kitchen, quickly making a sandwich as she prepared the ingredients for dinner. Although Billy could seem cold and aloof, he did seem to have a good heart. If anyone could care about their younger sister as much as he did about Mira they had to be a good person. She walked back into the living room with the sandwich as Billy sat on the couch, unwrapping the bandages on his arm. Runo couldn't remember ever seeing him without them so she was curious to see what was under them. A simple dragon tattoo made its way from his fingertips to the middle of his forearm. Runo wasn't a fan of tattoos but she could see the beauty of it.

"I made you a sandwich; I figured you might be hungry," Runo said softly, placing the plate on the coffee table with a smile before she walked back to the kitchen.

Billy looked down at the sandwich Runo had made for him, a simple turkey on rye. Besides his sister, Runo seemed to be the only woman who wasn't afraid of him.'Afraid anymore,'he mentally corrected himself, remembering the first day when he held a knife to her throat. 'I didn't join the Red Dragonsto make friends anyway,' he thought, taking a bite of the sandwich.

After Mira and his parents died in a house fire, they had both been put into the foster care system. It wasn't the safest place for them and Billy had to constantly protect Mira from the other children who bullied her. Mira was too kind to fight back when she was picked on and teased. As her older brother, he made it his job to always keep her safe and the string of people with broken noses could attest to how serious he took his job. Once he turned 14, he joined the Red Dragons despite Mira's protests. He needed a way to provide for them and this was the easiest way. He couldn't really remember how he fell in with Dan; the only time he had seen Dan was during a huge fight with the Black Demons. After realizing they were on the same side, they had worked together in the battle. A year later when Dan became Southern District leader, Dan had sought him out to be part of his team. He was hesitant at first, but joining Dan would provide Mira with a safe place to live.

Billy got along with Shun well; they seemed to be on the same wavelength. His relationship with Ace, however, was rocky from the start and only worsened once he started dating Mira. But as long as Mira held him in her favor, Billy would let him live.

"We're home," Mira called as she walked into the apartment, familiar voices following her. Billy picked up his now empty plate and walked to the kitchen. Despite his best efforts, Billy had found a home again.

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"We need to find out where the Barodius heaquarters are; we need more information," Dan said, frustrated. The team had gathered in the living room after dinner for a group meeting about what they knew, trying to figure out some plan of action. Turned out they didn't know much.

"Well where do you expect us to get information from Kuso?" Should we go talk to Lync and Kimba and the others?" Ace asked.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Dan said, rubbing his face. "Someone has to know something valuable. You and Billy should go make a few house calls.

""Why do you insist on pairing me with the fool?" Billy said, earning a slap on the arm from Mira.

"Hey, who are you calling a fool, short stuff?" Ace said heatedly.

"Oh Ace, you know he doesn't mean it," Mira said, trying to pacify him.

"Yes I did," Billy said.

"I pair you guys up because," Dan said loudly, trying to cut off the argument before it escalated, "it makes me laugh." Dan had to hold back a laugh as he looked at everyone's expression: Billy and Ace's glares, Shun's shocked look, Mira's surprised expression.

"You've got to be messing with me Kuso," Ace said seriously.

"And despite the fact that you two are always at each other's throats, you've got that good cop-bad cop thing going on. That's gotta be handy for questioning people," Dan said with a shrug.

"You never cease to amaze me Dan," Shun said, chuckling.

"Gotta keep you guys on your toes," Dan laughed. "What about you Shun? You got any ideas?"

"Just one. I'm going to have a conversation with my informant; he's keeping something from me and I intend to find out what it is," Shun said coldly.

"Shun, you aren't gonna do anything drastic are you?" Mira asked cautiously.

"Depends on your definition of drastic. I will do everything in my power to get information out of my source," Shun replied.

"And if that includes hanging the guy upside down and beating him with a bat, well then that's life," Dan said, rolling his eyes.

"Precisely, in my eyes I don't view that as drastic; I consider it necessary. Hopefully it won't get to that point, but if it does then I'll have no choice." Shun glanced down at his watch, putting on his coat. "I'll be off now; see you all tomorrow."

"Seems like Yoko has come out to play tonight," Billy said.

"Yoko?" Mira asked curiously.

"That's what Billy calls Shun when he gets all scary like that," Dan explained.

"Yoko was a legendary fox demon. He was a master thief," Billy said. "He could break into any safe house, rob the people and make it out without ever being caught. He was renowned for being cunning as well as cold and ruthless, slaughtering anyone who stood in his path. It sounds like Shun at the moment, doesn't it?"

"You don't think he'll really kill someone, do you?" Mira asked worriedly.

"He might if his informer pushes him too far. Shun has humanity, but even I know not to push him too far," Billy replied.

Jesse glenn saw his life flash before his eyes as Shun held him over the edge of a building, holding tightly to his ankles. Glenn thought it was odd that Shun wanted a meeting on the rooftop of some strange building, but he thought he'd be less likely to run into anyone from the Black Demons. Now he regretted it as he watched Tokyo traffic whizzing by below.

"Jesse glenn, I thought you and I were good friends," Shun said coolly.

"We are, we are," he replied, panic leaking into his voice.

"Really, are we really?" Shun said, enjoying toying with glenn. "If we truly are friends then why are you keeping information from me?"

"I-i'm not Shun, I swear I'm not," glenn said fearfully.

"Are you sure?" Shun asked coldly, lowering glenn more.

"Yes, yes I'm sure."

Shun pulled glenn back over the edge and dropped him onto the rooftop. Glenn looked as if he was on the edge of a panic attack, clinging to the asphalt of the roof.'Such a spineless creature,' he thought. He grabbed glenn, holding him up by his throat. "Listen very closely glenn because I don't like repeating myself. There are very few things in my life that I consider precious and these things have recently come under attack. I will go toany lengths to protect these things, fight anyone, kill anyone. So I will ask you once: do you know where Barodius is?"

"I-I don't know for sure," he said, nearly screaming when Shun held him over the edge of the building again. "Wait, wait! I know he moves between the four districts and I know for sure he's in the Southern District right now. I think he's in an office type building."

"Is that all you know?" Shun said, bringing glenn close to his face.

"Yes, yes I swear," he said, holding tightly to Shun's arm.

Shun threw him onto the rooftop, relesasing his grip on glenn's throat. "Next time I won't be as nice about you wasting my time," Shun said, walking away.

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Dan wanted to murder whoever was banging on the front door of the apartment that early in the morning. Even if eleven in the morning wasn't considered very early by anyone else. He tucked the blanket around Runo's slim frame, brushing the hair from her eyes before he rolled out of bed and walked out of his room. He would have just left the person banging at the front door, but there was no one else to answer the door. Shun had gone to visit his mother and ask if she had gotten any unusual packages. Mira had to work the morning shift that day so Billy and Ace drove her to work before they looked for the other gang members. That left Dan and Runo alone in the apartment. He would have liked to stay in bed with Runo, to have a leisurely morning and make her breakfast, but he could not listen to the constant pounding on the door.

'Whoever banging on my goddamn door is gonna get their foot shoved up their ass,'he thought angrily as he opened the door.

"Yo," the tall man said, walking into the apartment as Dan opened the door."Hey baby breath! What's the big idea banging on my front door so early in the goddamned morning? Do you want me to kill you?" Dan said, following him into the living room.

"It's eleven in the morning Dan; it is by no means of the imagination early in the morning. And as my Southern District leader, my subordinate, I would appreciate it if you didn't call me baby breath. My name is Marucho."

"Stop looking like a baby and I'll stop calling you once," Dan muttered. Marucho did look much younger than his 34 years of age. With his short blonde hair and smooth, clear skin, he looked more like a teenager than the head of the entire Red Dragon gang. But looks could be deceiving. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Dan, what's with all the noise?" Runo asked, yawning as she walked into the living room. "Oh I didn't realize you had company over; I'm sorry." Runo blushed at being seen in Dan's clothes that she had slept in. It was one thing for the other guys to see her; they were usually more disheveled than she was in the morning. But this guy sat on Dan's couch wearing a blue shirt with a red tie and khaki pants, looking far more presentable than her disheveled state or Dan's shirtless one.

"It's okay, it's only baby face here," Dan said, rolling his eyes.

"I'm Marucho, Dan's boss," Marucho said, rising from his seat to shake Runo's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too; I'm Runo, Dan's girlfriend," she replied.

"A fool like Dan could never get a girl like you. I guess miracles do happen," Marucho laughed as Runo went to sit next to Dan.

"Yeah yeah, why don't you just tell me why you're here?" Dan asked.

"Genkai called me; she said you were in trouble," Marucho said seriously. "Why don't you tell me what's going on with the Barodiuss and your team?"

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"Oye I tell you that Kuso's always getting himself into trouble," Lync said, shaking his head. "Not an easy day in that lad's life."

"Well he wouldn't be Dan if he didn't get into trouble every now and then," Kimba said, sipping his tea.

"Yeah well he's gotten us into some big trouble now," Ace said, leaning back in his chair.

After dropping Mira off at the hospital, Ace and Billy had gone in search of Lync and Kimba, hoping they would have some useful information. They found the pair easily, much easier than trying to find Chu. Lync and Kimba were part of the same team like the entire Kuso team which made it that much simper to find them.

"Do you know anything useful about the Barodiuss?" Billy said, shifting in his seat. Billy never fidgeted. Ever. But he felt as if something was wrong; something was tugging at his gut, telling him something was not quite right, to be on guard. But he couldn't figure out what was wrong; he was uneasy and he wasn't happy about it.

"I hear he's in the Southern District handling problems," Kimba said.

"At least now Shun won't have to kill his informant," Ace replied. "Do you know anything else?"

"If I remember right, I heard a rumor that he was staying in the center of Tokyo for business, but he had a house outside of Tokyo where he actually stayed," Lync said. "I might be wrong though, after all tis only a rumor."

"But it's a rumor Shun can investigate at least," Billy said.

"Let us know if Dan needs a hand with anything; we're always willing to help," Kimba said.

"How a bastard like Kuso has so many friends is beyond me," Ace laughed. "But I'll let him know."

Billy felt as if a bag of ice slid into his stomach as his phone rang, He looked down at the phone screen, his stomach flipping when he saw Mira's name blinking. "Mira?" Billy said, hoping he hid the slight tremor in his voice.

"Billy!" Mira screamed into the phone. The noise in the background nearly drowned out her voice, people shouting and running in the background. "Billy!"

"Mira, what's going on!" he asked franticly.

"The hospital's on fire Billy! It's burning down!"

Billy felt his heart drop at her words, his blood congealing in his veins. "GET OUT OF THE HOSPITAL NOW!"

"What's going on? What's wrong with Mira!" Ace asked worried.

"The freaking hospital is on fire!" Billy replied, jumping up from his seat and running out the door, Ace following close behind him.

"Billy, I can't leave; I have to help the patients get out too! I can't let them burn alive!" she said, her voice shaking with fear and exertion.

"Screw the patients Mira; leave them and get out of there!" Even as the words passed through his lips, Billy knew she wouldn't leave them. She worked too hard as a nurse to simply leave everyone there to die. He started the car, knowing even if he raced to the hospital, it would take at least seven minutes to get there. More than enough time for her to die from smoke inhalation or the flames.

"Tell her to get the hell out of there!" Ace shouted.

"Tell Ace I love him, okay Billy?" she said, her voice cracking. "Tell him I love him and remember I always love you."

"Mira don't you dare talk like that!" Billy said harshly. "I will not lose you too."

"Brother, I-" Mira's sentence was cut off as she screamed and the phone went dead.

"Mira!" Billy screamed as he slammed on the gas pedal, speeding down the street as his heart threatened to burst free from his chest.

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"Has the job been completed Shadow?" Barodius asked, lighting his cigarette.

"Yes, the fire has been started," he replied.

"And you're positive it was in the hospital wing where Billy's sister works?"

"Yes, I watched her go into that part of the building before I started the fire," he said. "With the accelerant I used, the entire hospital will go up in flames in minutes. The chances of surviving are slim."

"Very good. It's quite ironic that while Billy is a ruthless fighter, his sister is a humanitarian," Barodius said. "I cannot wait to see how this will all play out."

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"The hospital's on fire Billy! It's burning down!" Mira felt her lungs constricting in anxiety as she covered her mouth with a cloth and raced down the hallways. Ever since her parents had perished in a house fire, Mira was afraid of fires. Now it was as if her worst nightmares had come to life.

"GET OUT OF THE HOSPITAL NOW!" Billy shouted into the phone, hurting her ear.

"What's going on? What's wrong with Mira!" Ace asked worried. Mira's heart ached at his worried tone, wishing she didn't worry them so much. But she knew she had to call Billy and let him know what was going on; if he found out any other way, he would lose it.

"The freaking hospital is on fire!" Billy replied, the sound of a car vaguely heard in the background.

"Billy, I can't leave; I have to help the patients get out too! I can't let them burn alive!" she said, her voice shaking with fear and exertion. People were running left and right, trying to escape the flames; patients, doctors, everyone was trying to get out alive. But who knew where the fire was even started from? She pushed open another room door, scanning it for patients before shutting the door again.

"Screw the patients Mira; leave them and get out of there!" She knew Billy would say that to her; he was only concerned for her safety. But Mira couldn't live knowing she left people she could have saved.

"Tell her to get the hell out of there!" Ace shouted.

"Tell Ace I love him, okay Billy?" she said, her voice cracking. "Tell him I love him and remember I always love you." Mira wasn't sure she was going to make it out as her eyes began to water and her throat grew more dry.

"Mira don't you dare talk like that!" Billy said harshly. "I will not lose you too."

"Brother, I-" Mira's sentence was cut off as she grabbed the doorknob, not realizing how hot it was. Her phone dropped to the floor, sliding out of her sight. She stuck her head into the room, looking around for any patients that might have been left behind. She felt her head swim as she continued down the hall, her head growing more and more lightheaded.'I need to get out now,' she thought, coughing harshly.

She stumbled down the hall, leaning heavily against the walls to stay upright, her mind focused on getting out alive. She didn't know how far the fire was from her, but she refused to give up without a fight. She was the only family Billy had left and she wouldn't leave him alone in the world. The image of her older brother drove her forward as her legs grew weak beneath her. She saw the image of her loved ones flash before her eyes: her parents smiling at her, Billy with his trademark smirk, Dan and Shun laughing, Runo cooking in the kitchen, Serena smoking, and Ace with his hand held out to her.'Ace,' she thought worriedly. 'At least he knows I love him,'she thought as she slipped into unconsciousness.

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"Runo!" Dan screamed as he hung up the phone on Ace. "Runo!"

"What? What is it?" she asked, rushing out of room, her hair dripping wet on her shoulders. "What's going on?"

"We need to get to the hospital now!" he said, running toward the door as Runo ran after him.

"Dan, what's going on?" she asked as Dan pushed the elevator button repeatedly.

"The hospital's on fire! Mira's in there somewhere; Ace just called and told me. He said she called Billy and she was still in the hospital when her phone went dead. They don't know if she's out or not," Dan said, wanting to pull his hair out as the elevator slowly descended to the lobby. The thought of losing Mira tore at his heart. She was the little sister he never had, one of the main women in his life. He couldn't think about losing her.

"Oh Mira," Runo said, her eyes welling with tears. "She has to be okay."

"We're gonna need backup," Dan said, pulling out his phone.

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Billy felt his knees shake slightly as he drove closer to the hospital, the plume of smoke visible from blocks away. Ace looked as if he was ready to jump out of the car and run to the hospital; Billy knew how he felt.

"She said she loves you," Billy said softly.

"What?" Ace said, whipping his head quickly toward Billy. His mind had been churning over the possibility of losing Mira since he found out the hospital was on fire, his mind in a grip of terror.

"Mira said to tell you that she loves you," Billy said, pulling up alongside the fire engines before jumping out of the car. He quickly scanned the crowds, hoping to see his sister's beautiful face among the masses, but there was no such luck. 'She's not out yet,' he thought rushing toward the hospital.

"Hey you can't go in there," two cops said, blocking his path.

"Move out of my way or I will break your neck in a heartbeat," he said harshly, aware of Ace behind him. "My little sister is in there!"

"I'm sorry buddy but-" the officer was cut off as Ace punched him, Billy knocking out the second officer. The pair rushed toward the hospital before they were tackled to the ground, their arms held behind their back.

"Billy, you can't go in there," Dan said, pinning him to the ground.

"Kuso's right mate, you two knuckleheads run in there and you're just gonna make it worse," Klaus said, helping Ace up from the ground while maintaining a firm grip on him.

"Dan if you don't get off of me right now, I swear to god I will murder you," Billy said viciously, struggling against Dan's grip.

"How about you kick my ass after the fire's out? You won't do any good running into the hospital now; you'll just get in the way," Dan said, trying to keep his grip on Billy.

"There's Mira!" Runo cried, causing all of their heads to whip toward the hospital. Mira was being carried out in the arms of a fireman, burns visible on her hands and calves.

"MIRA!" Billy and Ace screamed.

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Heart-stopping. That was the only word Runo could think of to describe the moment when the firemen had brought Mira out of the burning building. She could almost feel the hearts of everyone stop for a beat before picking back up in overtime as the doctors swarmed Mira. Billy and Ace rushed toward her, fear and worry etched on their face. They saw her laying on the stretcher unconscious and burned before she was rushed into an ambulance and whisked away to the nearest hospital.

Now they all sat in the hall of the hospital: Runo sitting next to Dan, her hand clenching his, her eyes filled with unshed tears, Ace anxiously pacing up and down, his hand constantly running through his hair, Serena sitting near Runo, an unlit cigarette between her lips, and Billy, sitting perfectly still, his eyes filled with pain and panic. Klaus had left after getting an urgent call from his teammates and Shun was racing through the streets of Japan, rushing to the hospital.

Billy wanted to scream, wanted to hit something, wanted to kill something. The entire situation seemed so surreal to him. That couldn't be his baby sister in the other room, fighting to survive. That couldn't have been his beautiful little sister trapped inside an inferno, refusing to leave while she thought there were still patients trapped inside. That couldn't be his precious Mira who he was one heartbeat away from losing. It couldn't be and yet it was. Billy felt paralyzed; he was so used to protecting Mira, fighting for her that he felt helpless now. There was nothing he could kill for her; there was nothing he could do to protect her. This was a fight she had to win on her own or she wouldn't win at all.'Don't leave me here alone Mira,'he thought desperately.

Ace was ready to bash his head against the white hospital walls as he paced up and down the hallway. He felt as if he had spent an eternity in the in the halls, waiting for the doctors to tell them something, only thing the doctors had said as they wheeled Mira into the emergency room hadn't even been addressed to them, but to the other doctors. Ace only caught snippets of their words but it was enough to make him want to pull his hair out in frustration and worry. "Unconscious…burns…severe smoke inhalation…stopped breathing." All Ace wanted to know was if the love of his life was going to live. The love of his life, his soulmate. Ace had known from the first time he met her that she was the one, she was his soulmate. He had never believed that stupid red pinky string story, but he understood what they meant after he met Mira. He was drawn to her like a moth to a flame, it was inescapable. He loved her and she loved him; there was no way the universe would separate two people who were meant to be, right?

Dan felt sick to his stomach with worry as he watched the second hand of the hospital clock slowly tick by. He knew the life of the Red Dragons was a dangerous one, but he never thought he'd be sitting in a hospital becauseMira was hurt. Something about it didn't seem right; why hadn't the building's sprinklers gone off when the fire started? Something was suspicious about the entire situation and Dan was going to find out what.'If the Black Demons have anything to do with this, heads are gonna roll,' he thought angrily. 'Especially if Mira…' The thought of Mira dying made Dan's heart clench painfully. He removed his hand from Runo's grasp, wrapping it around her shoulder. As much as he might not want to admit it, there was a good chance that the Black Demons were involved and that put everyone, including Runo, in danger. Dan kissed Runo's head as she leaned against his shoulder, her body tense with worry. The Barodiuss had declared war on Dan and his team and Dan would be damned if anyone else he loved got hurt.

Everyone's heads snapped up at the sound of footsteps, Shun running toward them. "Sorry I took so long to get here," he said as he tried to catch his breath. "How's Mira doing?"

"We don't know; no one's told us anything yet," Dan replied. 'No news is good news, right?'

Shun nodded, taking a seat next to Billy. As close as he was to Dan and Ace, if Shun had to choose someone as his best friend, it would be Billy. He couldnt explain why but Billy seemed like an old, kindred soul like himself.

As time slowly approached the one hour mark since they came to the hospital, a doctor walked out of the room, removing his gloves. Everyone got to their feet, their hearts pounding as Billy and Ace rushed toward the doctor.

"How is she doctor?" Billy asked.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Ace said.

"Mira's a fighter; I can tell you that much. The burns on her forearms and calves are pretty bad," the doctor said, his brow furrowing with worry. The fire must have gotten to her while she was unconscious; they'll leave scars. She also suffers from severe smoke inhalation; she stopped breathing twice on her way here. We have her hooked up to a respirator for now."

"So shes gonna be okay?" Ace asked anxiously.

"Shes going to need some time to recover but yes she should be alright. Her biggest problems at the moment are breathing and her potential for an infection from the burns. We're going to move her to a room and then you can all see her; we've sedated her for now."

"Hey doc," Dan said, getting his attention, "make sure it's the best room you have, no matter the cost." The doctor nodded before walking back into the room.

Billy felt as if his knees would give out as he looked at Mira's fragile body lying on the large hospital bed. He sat on one side of the bed, Ace on the other side, as he held Mira's hand, her soft, gentle one trapped between his rough, dangerous ones. How many times had he held her hand as children? He miht have lost the chance to hold her hand again today. But she was here, pale, sedated, hurt, but still here.

"Their head," Billy sad softly, his voice barely reaching anyone's ears.

"What was that Billy?" Shun asked.

"Whoever did this, I want their head," Billy said looking up, his eyes filled with barely contained rage.

**Review pls**

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